The Last Airbender : Redux
by Avatard1234
Summary: Like one of those 'crazy nights' she reads about in her books, Jinora wakes up on a beach with no memory of how she got there. Her family missing, the young Airbender finds herself faced with a tough choice; search for her family or find Korra and help her complete her Airbender training. For the Last Airbender time is growing short and Amon is only getting stronger. Post 110 AU
1. Chapter 1

**The Last Airbender : Redux**

* * *

**Act I : Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Wake Up**

* * *

**Jinora**

* * *

Jinora groaned.

_See! She is alive!_

_Shut up—she's nearly dead. Screaming in her ear isn't going to help!_

Jinora tried to move; her body was on fire with soreness. Were these voices in her head? The young airbender felt something gritty splash over her face.

_Idiot!_ One of the voices said. Jinora could feel something soft caress the angular planes of her face. _You're supposed to splash water on people to wake them up, not sand!_

_Well,_ voice number two replied, _The water was too far away and the sand's right here. It could have worked._

The first voice sighed. _Just stop. Don't even talk._

"Who are you?" Jinora tried to say. Unfortunately, it came out more like, "Ooo uhh uu?" Apparently, talking was not her strong suit right now. Jinora tried to open her eyes.

The sunlight assaulted her immediately, only to be blocked out as someone leaned over her. Slowly, Jinora opened her eyes a little bit wider. She was greeted by a shock of black hair and a gentle, pretty face.

"Hey," the girl leaning over her said. "Are you okay?"

"Jin, she looks like she just lost a fight with a platypus bear. What do you think?"

Jinora recognized this as the second voice she had been hearing. Reality was starting to settle in now and she opened her eyes a little bit more. A boy with scraggly hair leaned over her, pushing the girl out of the way.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked. "Hungry?"

"Thirsty," Jinora croaked. That simple word alone was enough to add her throat to the list of things on fire with pain.

The boy held her up while his friend uncorked a flask and held it to Jinora's lips. The airbender slurped greedily at the water, which was dribbled slowly into her mouth. Much to her frustration.

"More," she said, finding her voice. The girl shook her head.

"Not now." She smiled sympathetically. "You'll get sick."

She turned to her friend, saying, "We should take her to your mother. She'll know what to do."

The boy nodded his head. "That's a good idea. Could you carry my stuff? I'll carry her."

"Are you sure you can handle her?"

Jinora felt the boy's eyes looking down at her. "Yes," he said. "I've carried heavier things working down at the inn."

His friend shrugged her shoulders. "Okay. It's not that far, anyways."

The boy bent down to pick Jinora up. with a grunt, he hefted her into his arms, carrying her bridal style down the beach.

"Wait," Jinora demanded. Her vision was swirling again and it took a few seconds for the world to steady itself. "My… my family? Where?"

The boy frowned. Jinora looked at the girl, who was also wearing a confused look.

"There's no one else on this beach," she said. "It's just you, me, and Lee."

It took a few seconds for this to register in Jinora's mind. "I'm alone?" she asked.

The girl bit her lip and nodded hesitantly. Jinora looked away.

"I'm alone."

* * *

**Mako | Bolin | Asami**

* * *

"That probably could have been handled better."

The firebender untangled himself from the wreckage of the stolen airship's steering wheel.

"You can say that again," a voice called out from behind him. "But first, a little help here? Please?"

Mako sighed. At least Bolin was okay. He wove his way through the wreckage of the airship's bridge to where Bolin sat, trapped, under a tangle of wire mesh and iron framework. He pulled back the wire, letting his brother escape his metallic prison.

"Whew!" he exclaimed, stretching out his arms. "Much better. You okay?"

"Yeah," Mako replied absentmindedly. Something nagged at his mind. "Where's Asami?"

Bolin shrugged. Mako's heart started pounding. Where was she? Was Asami alright? Was she hurt?

"Asami!" he called out, worried. "Asami?"

"Oh now you care about me," came the sarcastic reply. "I'm over here."

"Where is here?" he replied, turning around and around, looking for her. He finally spotted her outside the wreckage of the airship. As always, she looked like a million golden Yuan.

"Geez," she said, watching Mako hurry over to where she stood. "I should get in airship accidents more often."

"Don't say that," Mako replied, checking her over for injuries. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Bolin followed his brother at a distance; he knew a sticky situation when he saw one. Better to stay on the edges for this one. The earthbender was certainly goofy, but he wasn't stupid.

"Honestly, I'm fine," Asami said, swatting Mako's hands away from her. Part of her wanted to stay mad at the firebender for the way he kept flip-flopping between her and Korra, but another part of her liked the attention she was getting. Speaking of the Avatar…

"Where's Korra?"

The question caught Mako's attention like a koi fish on a hook. He stopped his inspection of Asami's injuries (or lack thereof) and began looking around feverishly.

"Korra?" he called. "Korra!"

Bolin watched as his brother ran back to the wreckage of the airship they had stolen. Their escape from Republic City hadn't exactly gone according to plan; Yes, they had escaped, but their getaway vehicle was now smashed across several miles of forest and the most important person in the world, who was on the airship at some point, was now missing. The earthbender strode quietly over to Asami.

"Are you really okay?" he asked the black haired beauty. Asami fixed him with her emerald green eyes.

"Physically," she told him, "Yes. Mentally—don't even ask."

"Good." He answered. "And I won't." Bolin frowned. All this seriousness was starting to wear on him. He began to think of appropriate jokes to crack as Asami and he began to help Mako search for Korra. Maybe this was a good time to pull out his famous, "Earthbender, Waterbender, and a Firebender all walk into a bar" joke.

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

"Ugh," Korra groaned aloud. "Body. Sore. All over. Katara, where are you when I need you?"

The southern watertribe girl picked herself off of a pile of broke branches, picking sticks and branches out of her clothes and hair. She looked up at the tree that she had fallen through; cracked branches and battered foliage marked her "graceful" fall.

"Well," Korra said to herself. "I'd say that I'm feeling pretty good, considering I just fell from a freaking airship."

She held out her elbows and twisted, trying to loosen up her back. It wasn't as great of an idea as she thought it would be. Pain shot through her chest.

"Oooph," she grunted, hunching over. She placed a hand gingerly on her ribs. Something wasn't right down there. Probably a fractured rib—if she was lucky, only a bruised one.

"Waiter," she said to no one in particular. "I'll have a glass of water please."

Her stomach growled, calling for attention. "And some noodles, too," she added. "Okay. First, find water. Next, find some food."

Korra gazed around the clearing she had… made. No water seemed to be right next to her, so she used her waterbending to search for any water nearby that she couldn't see.

"Ugh!" Korra groaned. "Why isn't there any water?"

This was seriously the driest place she'd ever been. Well, not exactly. But she was thirsty, hungry, hurt, and wanted water and food _now._

"If I was at Asami's house," she mused aloud, "I could just snap my fingers and a butler would get me water."

The realization struck her like bolt of lightning. And this wasn't exactly the kind you could re-direct.

"Where is everyone else?" she asked aloud, hoping maybe they'd hear her and pop out of the bushes, or a tree. "Mako? Bolin? Asami?"

Birds chirped in response. Trees swayed with the breeze. There were plenty of noises, but none of them were her friends.

"Well," Korra said, fighting back her worry. "Can't do anything until I'm healed. So let's use the old head right now, Korra. Where can I find water?"

Her gaze landed on a large clump of leaves, which sparked an idea in her brain. "Of course!" she cried. "Just like Katara said—there's water everywhere! Korra, you rule."

The avatar reached out to the water in the plants, drawing it out with a quick flick of her wrist. As expected, she managed to gather a large pool of water, large enough for her to heal herself. However, rash decisions often have unexpected consequences. As Korra drew the water from the leaves, she felt each one of them wither and die, all at once. The feeling burned itself in her mind, and she nearly dropped the water blob she was levitating.

Korra looked guiltily from the dead vegetation to the blob of water. "What's done, is done," she said, trying to shrug it off. "I know Tenzin said all life is sacred, but so is mine, right? And I'm the avatar, whose job it is to keep peace in the world… so my life is extra precious, right?"

The words had no effect on her guilty conscious. If anything, it made her feel worse. But, what was done is done. Wasting the water now, would just add insult to injury.

Korra healed herself quickly, watching the water glow, then fade, and finally melt away from her hand. Her ribs felt a lot better, but at a hefty cost.

"I need to find some food," she said, talking to herself. "And my friends."

* * *

**A/N: Happy to hear what you think! All reviews are welcome, as are all comments, flames, death notices, and marriage announcements. Expect updates as quickly as three days, or as long as one week. **

**Chow!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I : Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 2 : Numb | Unexpected Encounter | Missing**

* * *

**Jinora**

* * *

Everything that could have been done to make Jinora feel warm, had been done. She was sitting next to a fire, wrapped in a blanket, and sipping a cup of hot soup. The boy, Lee, and his friend, Jin, had brought her to Lee's mom's house. The woman in question sat to Jinora's left, quickly and efficiently mending the young airbender's tattered clothes with one of the new-fangled metal needles and a bit of orange thread. Oma was a nice, homely, middle-aged woman. One who's eyes had seen many hardships and a few good times. One who's fingers were no strangers to the washboard, the cutting board, or the scrubbing brush. Still, though, she had presented the distressed girl with a welcome so warm, even Amon would've admitted to feeling a little fuzzy inside.

Yet, despite the blanket, the fire, the hot soup, and Oma's affectionate welcome, Jinora still felt numb.

Jinora could remember only a few things before waking up on the beach. Lin's sacrifice, the ever-pursuing enemy airships, Oogi's fancy flying. She tried as hard as she could, but the last thing she could remember was her father pulling Oogi into a steep climb And then, the strange weightless feeling of falling through the air.

"The spirits must have something special planned for you," Lee's mother remarked. "We seldom find any survivors along our stretch of the beach."

Jinora felt the pit in her stomach worsen. Survivor. The word left a bad taste in her mouth. To her, it meant that her family hadn't—

"No."

Jinora shook her head. Whatever the truth may be, she wouldn't think…_that_. She wouldn't give up hope that easily.

Oma looked up in surprise. The simple one-syllable word had been the first thing her young guest had said since she had arrived.

"No?" she asked, feigning mild curiosity.

Jinora looked up surprised. "Sorry?"

Oma continued to sew. "My apologies," the woman replied. "I thought you had said, 'no' to me."

"Oh," Jinora replied. She looked back at the fire. "I was thinking about the connotations of the word, 'survivor', and what it meant if I accepted that description of myself. I refuse to believe my family is gone."

Oma nodded her head. "Connotation, eh? That's a big word for a young girl like yourself."

"I read a lot," Jinora replied. "And I'm not that young."

"I see," Oma said. "No matter, though."

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Lee's mother bit the end of the thread she had been using, re-threading the needle to start on a new tear.

"Whatever you might think now, your family is never gone," Oma consoled. "Even if they're no longer on this earth."

The young airbender picked up her cup of soup and sipped gingerly. Her grandfather, Avatar Aang, had said something similar to her father, Tenzin, right before he had died.

"Have you decided what you will do?"

The question hung in the air while Jinora ran down her list of options.

"Well," she said, turning to Oma. "It doesn't make much sense to do anything until I get better. Once I can travel, I'll start looking for them."

Oma paused her sewing momentarily, to return Jinora's gaze. "Very well, young one. You may stay here until you are well. However, I am afraid that I'm in no position to offer you free rent."

Jinora looked down at her soup, thinking about the woman's offer. There was very little to consider.

"I'll help you as much as I can," Jinora replied. "And thanks."

* * *

**Mako | Bolin | Asami**

* * *

Darkness was falling quickly; Asami turned to look at the purple and orange skies.

"It's so hard to believe that just a few hours ago, we were fighting in a war," she said quietly. Mako looked up from the airship wreckage that he had been inspecting. So far, he had found a few tins of meat and a bag of bread.

"Huh?" he asked. Asami sighed.

"Twenty miles away," she said, "My father and Amon are putting the finishing touches on a perfect takeover of Republic City. Yet, here we are in the middle of the forest, and it's perfectly quiet. You would have never guessed what was going on, just over those mountains."

Mako nodded. "I know what you mean. I never noticed that, right outside the city, there was this big, green… ocean."

The two were quiet for a moment. Mako shook his head, "It's also hard to believe that Korra's out there, somewhere. I mean, she could be a quarter of a mile away or right behind that tree, unconscious, and we'd never know."

Asami felt her anger begin to rise. "For the love of Koh," she muttered.

"What?" Mako's mind raced. What had he said?

The tall, midnight-haired teenager whirled on the hapless firebender. "Could you just pretend that, once upon a time, I meant something to you? Just for one minute?"

Bolin stepped into the clearing. "You called me?" he asked. The earthbender took one look at two individuals in front of him, and started to back away slowly.

"Um, I'll be over here," he muttered, making his escape. Mako and Asami paid him no attention.

The dark haired firebender could probably count, on one hand, all the times in his life that he had been truly at a loss for words. Being with Asami had that effect on you.

"Why did you lead me on like this," Asami continued, "If you were never interested in me in the first place? Why did you go out with me, if all you've ever had is eyes for Korra?"

Mako shook his head, clearing his mind. "Do you hear the words that are coming out of your mouth? Who said that I've been leading you on? Where are you getting this, 'eyes for Korra' nonsense?"

Asami rolled her eyes. "Are you _serious?_ You haven't left her side for more than five minutes since Tarrlok took her!"

Mako looked around the clearing, as if to see if anyone else was hearing the same stuff he was. "She's the _Avatar_, Asami! She's _important_, like, _to the world_! I'm sorry that I'm concerned about my friend's safety, and that I care about her!"

Asami folded her arms, shooting Mako a nasty look. "Well thanks very much, Mako. That makes me feel very good about myself. I guess I'm just not very important."

The green-eyed girl turned on her heel, determined to make an impression with her exit. What she didn't intend on, though, was someone standing right behind her. She hardly expected to see a pair of golden eyes and a mop of unruly black hair. With a cry of surprise, Asami went into defensive mode.

Her foot shot out, sweeping her shadow's legs out from underneath him. Asami grabbed the Peeping Chen's arm, and twisted it behind his back. He grunted in a mixture of surprise and pain.

A United Forces soldier stepped out of the woods towards Asami. His arms were raised in a fighting stance.

"Ma'm," he said. "I'm going to give you one opportunity to release the General before I take action."

Asami looked at the soldier, down at the ground towards her victim, and then back at the soldier.

"I'm so sorry!" Asami exclaimed, her hands flying up to her mouth. General Iroh groaned, pushing himself up off of the ground.

"To be fair," he said, "I shouldn't have snuck up behind you. However, in my defense, a herd of rinocopotamus could've stampeded through here and you wouldn't have noticed."

Mako folded his arms, moodily. "We weren't that loud."

Bolin stepped into the clearing. "You two done with your little battle royale, yet?"

General Iroh smiled. Mako huffed in annoyance. Asami looked down at the ground, blushing.

"So, General," Bolin continued. "What brings you to our humble airship crash site on this fine summer evening?"

"We saw the ship go down," Iroh explained. "And we decided to look for survivors to help… or interrogate."

"The only ones on the airship," Mako spoke up, "Was me, Asami, Bolin, and Korra."

"I see," Iroh said. "And where is the Avatar?"

"We don't know," Mako answered, quietly. "The airship began to break up about ten miles out and I think she might have gone down with another part of the ship, somewhere in this forest.

The general thought hard for a moment. "We shall start a full scale search for the Avatar as soon as first light hits. For now, though, we need to get you three back to our camp."

"First light?" Mako asked. "That won't work! We need to start looking, _now_."

The firebender slashed his arm through the air, to emphasize his point. Unintentionally, and as a result of his turbulent emotions, flames shot out of his fingertips at the general. Iroh whirled on him, batting the flames aside.

"Listen, punk," he growled, "The United Forces Charter, signed by every nation, states that under martial law and in the absence of a region's governing body, you three are required to follow my orders."

Silence reigned, in the clearing.

"Now, those orders are that you three will come with us to our base of operations, where you will receive medical attention, nourishment, and a place to rest," General Iroh finished. "Understood?"

Mako's attitude faded a little, as his ego deflated a bit. He nodded his head but folded his arms, indicating that he would follow the orders, but also that he wasn't happy about it. Bolin, on the other hand, was at the General's side the minute he said, _food._"

"What are we standing around for?" he asked, oblivious to his brother's sullen attitude. "The man's got food waiting for us! And beds!"

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

Korra wasn't having nearly as much luck as her friends were. The mocha-skinned Avatar had been wandering the forest for nearly two hours now; she'd found a whole lot of nothing. Nothing that she needed, that is. There were plenty of trees, bushes, fire-ferrets, moosedoves, and other animals that didn't seem too appealing to eat. What she needed was to find water. After all, she _was_ a water tribe girl.

After struggling over another wooded hill, Korra was rewarded with the sight of a small valley with a creek running through it.

"Finally!" she cried, pumping her fist into the air. She practically sprinted down the hill she had been standing on, the agility she had gained from her bending training being the only thing that kept her from smashing into the tall green trees that dotted the hillside. The stream ended up being a little bit smaller and shallower than she had originally thought, but that didn't matter. Expertly, she bended some water into her mouth.

"Mmnn," she sighed. "Nice and cold. Clean, too."

The Avatar kicked off her boots and fingered the hem of her tank top. Thinking better of it, she bended a shallow rectangular hole in the ground, filling it with water. Around her make-shift bathtub, Korra bended a large earth tent.

"Don't know who's in these woods," she said as she pulled her tank top over her head. "Could be all sorts of Peeping Chens out there."

Stripping down to her under-wrap, Korra dipped a foot tentatively into the cool water. Slowly easing herself in, Korra relaxed, letting the stresses of the day melt off of her.

"Now for a bit of healing," Korra said, breathing in. She channeled her energy into the water, which started to glow. The cuts and bruises of navigating the forest (and falling from the airship) faded away, as did any lingering pain in her abdomen from her broken and bruised ribs.

"Hard to beat this," Korra sighed. Her stomach growled in reply. "Oh yeah," she said. "Food. That would beat this."

Korra's stomach growled again. The water tribe girl sighed, getting out of her tub. After giving her clothes a quick wash, she water bended them dry and put them on. Korra returned the water to the stream, and stepped out into the cool twilight air.

"Looks like fish for dinner," she said, her mind flitting back to her first day in Republic City. She laughed to herself, remembering Naga swimming around in the pond for fishes. Korra looked around for her polar bear dog. She frowned, wondering where her spirit guide had gone off to.

Then she remembered that Naga wasn't with her.

An incredible feeling of loneliness settled on the young Avatar. She couldn't remember a time when her and Naga had been apart for more than two or three days at a time; the fact that she had only noticed this now, and was only thinking of Naga now, made her feel even worse.

A tear wandered down Korra's cheek. "Naga," she whispered. "Where are you?"

* * *

**A/N: Heeeeello! A few things to note here. I'm going to make Jinora 12 years old. It just makes better sense to me, having her be older. Plus, I thought she was that age too. Whatever, though.**

**Also, "Peeping Chen" is my Avatarization of the phrase, "Peeping Tom", which is used to describe someone who watches other people from a distance. Often, through windows, into people's houses.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed; great to hear from you! Love to hear from you guys.**

**For the PJO fans- Updating Desperation in a few days.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I : Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 3 : Marching Orders**

* * *

**Jinora**

* * *

The brown haired Airbender walked along the shore, watching the waves. Lee's mother, Oma, had let her take the rest of the evening off. Between the two of them, they had finished the day's work before dinner. Lee had been excited to learn his new friend was staying for a few days, as was his other friend, Jin.

"We don't get visitors here very often," Lee had told her.

"And by very often," Jin added, "He means never."

A few weeks ago, Jinora's first instinct would have been to point out that "don't" and "never" would cancel each other out and what Jin actually should have said was "ever". But that carefree girl was gone. As was the joy she had once seen in life.

Jinora kicked a pebble moodily. Why had she survived? Why _her_ instead of Ikki, or Meelo, or even the baby?

Jinora stopped herself. No. She wouldn't think like that. She hadn't survived _anything._ She was alive, here, and they were alive… somewhere else.

The Airbender picked up a rock and tossed it into the waves. It didn't skip. The rock landed with a splash in the middle of the waves, immediately being swallowed by the vast expanse of water. Jinora looked down for another rock, her eye catching sight of a small tidal pool. She took a few steps and peered into the salt water mirror, studying her reflection.

She looked terrible.

Her hair was a mess. She had bags under her eyes from worry and loss of sleep. A large wave broke against the shore and Jinora shielded her eyes from the ocean spray with the back of her hand.

Looking back at the small, shallow, rocky, puddle of water, Jinora saw something she never thought she would ever see in her lifetime. From the pool, staring up at her was not her reflection, but instead was the figure of a bald-headed Airbending Master, sporting a well groomed beard that wrapped along his jaw line. She had seen his face a thousand times, every time she had looked out at the bay from her room on Air Temple Island.

"Aang?" she whispered quietly. The reflection smiled.

"It's good to finally see you, Jinora," the reflection answered. Jinora shook her head.

"How is this," she began, "Why is this…?"

Aang's reflection smiled. "What were you doing, looking in the pool, just a few minutes ago?"

Jinora's mind raced. "I was studying my reflection."

"Is this any different, what you are seeing now?"

"I'm not looking at my reflection anymore," the brown-haired girl answered.

"But you are still seeing a reflection," Aang replied.

"I don't understand," Jinora admitted. It felt a little silly, talking to a tidal pool. Not that she would stop now. There was no way she would pass up a chat with her grandpa, real or imagined.

"My dear," Aang said, "This isn't a reflection of your physical features as much as it is a reflection of your heart."

Jinora was silent for a moment. "That's a difficult thing to believe, even for me, an Airbender."

The figure of Aang shrugged his shoulders. "In the end, it doesn't matter if you believe this, only that you know what you must do. You can't stay in this town forever."

Jinora bowed her head. "I must find my family."

"You have a more pressing duty than that," Aang replied. She studied his face, taking in the seriousness of the look he was giving her. "The balance of the world is at stake. The Avatar must complete her training and defeat Amon."

Jinora closed her eyes. "Is this because… I am the last Airbender? The only one who can do the job?"

"That is unclear to me," Aang said, shaking his head. "But such things aren't hidden from you. Separation is an illusion, Jinora."

The brown-haired Airbender opened her eyes.

"Go to the Earth Temple that's located on the shores of the Wu Don Province," Aang said. "You will meet her there."

A fresh wave broke on the shore, spraying Jinora with yet another fine, salty, mist. She wiped the water from her eyes and looked down at the tidal pool; she saw her reflection. Whether the discussion had happened or not didn't matter to her. Aang was right. She couldn't worry about her need for closure right now with the balance of the world at stake. Jinora would also be lying if she said the thought of the quest didn't excite her; it was just like the adventures she read about in her books back home.

"I'm not giving up on them," she assured herself. "I'm… doing what they'd want me to do. What the world needs me to do."

And with that she turned around, heading for Oma's house.

* * *

**Mako | Bolin | Asami**

* * *

"This place is a mess," Asami remarked as their truck pulled into the United Forces Army Camp. General Iroh frowned.

"I will admit that things look a little rough," he said. "But I assure you, everything is clean, neat, and orderly."

The black haired teenager shook her head. "That's not what I mean," she said, facing the young General. "What I mean is that all your processes are tangled up. You have barracks, supply depots, and mess halls all over the place. Not to mention the illogical placement of the wire stations and the headquarters."

Iroh frowned again, realizing she was right. "There's a lot more to you than meets the eye, Miss Sato."

It was Asami's turn to frown. "Please General, call me Asami." In a quieter voice, she added, "I'm not prepared to use my family's dishonored name anytime soon."

Iroh was silent for a second. He figured it would be best not to comment on that last part. "You would do well to call me Iroh, then," the golden-eyed Firebender said. "How do you know so much about organization?"

Asami smiled. "Well, I'm not just another pretty face, Iroh."

Mako rolled his eyes at the conversation beside him. He caught Bolin's eye, motioning to the couple as if to say _get a load of this._ Bolin looked, listened, and shrugged. He patted his stomach, indicating that he was hungry. Mako sighed.

"General Iroh?" Mako asked. "Is there any way we can stop for something to eat? My brother is very… hungry."

"Is he?" Iroh countered, turning to Bolin. The Earthbender patted his stomach and nodded his head earnestly. "I'll arrange for food to be brought up to us. We can eat in my office."

"Why can't we stop there?" Mako asked, pointing to a mess hall overflowing with soldiers.

"Because we're going to my office," Iroh repeated. "There are things we must discuss."

Mako folded his arms. The general's tone made it clear this was not up for discussion. The truck stopped moments later outside a large rough-hewn stone structure.

"It's nothing special," Iroh said, "But then again, that's just the way I like it."

Mako cast an eye over the humble structure; it reminded him of his apartment at the pro bending arena, a very simple and no nonsense kind of place. The thought of his old home dredged up a few unwanted emotions; the Firebender squashed them.

The three friends followed Iroh up a flight of stairs to the second level. The general opened the door to his office.

"Please feel free to—" the General began. He was cut off mid-sentence by a large, hairy figure, which slammed into him, knocking him over.

"WAAAAAAAAHOOOOOO!" the hairy man/beast/thing yelled, holding the General in a choke hold. "Gotcha Iroh!"

Mako stepped in front of his brother an Asami protectively; a move that made the wild man notice the General had company.

"General!" he cried, standing up with Iroh still firmly in his grasp. "We have company!"

"_I…know…"_ Iroh gasped back. The Crown Prince grasped the wild-man's arm, heaving him forwards and flipping his assailant onto his back. Iroh planted his foot on the wild-man's chest, breathing heavily.

"Asami, Bolin, Mako," he said to the dumbstruck trio. "Meet Commander Bumi. Bumi, this is Asami, Bolin, and Mako."

Iroh took his foot off of Bumi's chest and helped him up. The Commander brushed his uniform clean, straightening it out.

"A pleasure," he said gallantly, taking Asami's hand and kissing it. He moved to shake Bolin's hand, but the Earthbender wouldn't give it to him.

"Please don't kiss my hand," he asked in a timid voice. Bumi was taken aback by the request at first. The surprise didn't last long, though. Bumi threw his head back and let out a booming laugh.

"OH, ho, ho!" he cried, slapping Bolin on the back none to gently. "I like you already. You should join my crew!"

"Whoa," Mako interrupted. "Bolin isn't joining _anyone's_ crew."

Bumi gave the Firebender a quick look. "Well, only if it's okay with mommy," he said, turning back to Bolin. The Earthbender laughed.

"Can I get back to you after a few dumplings?" he asked. "Making decisions on an empty stomach is always a bad idea."

Bumi nodded his head in serious agreement. "You, my friend, are a wise, wise, man. Iroh! Where are all the noodles and dumplings you've been hiding from us?"

"Don't forget the fruity drinks, too!" Bolin added.

The general smiled. "They're on their way. In the meantime, we can discuss a few things."

"Like what?" Mako asked skeptically. Iroh walked around to the back of his desk and sat down.

"Like your future," he said. "Put simply, you have two options. Stay and join the UF, or get out of here."

"They have an excellent dental plan," Bumi whispered confidentially to Asami. The industrialist's daughter grinned at the remark, showing everyone just how pretty she was when she smiled; something that was not lost on Iroh. Mako rolled his eyes in annoyance for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"We can't leave," he told Iroh. "Republic City is our home. It's our only home. Where would we go?"

"The problem is that your home is a warzone now," Iroh countered. "I cannot and will not let civilians get caught up in the middle of a designated combat area."

The reality of Republic City's fate had a sobering effect on the room. Asami and Bolin both sat down heavily.

"We can use talent like yours," Iroh continued. "Asami, you've already shared some great insights. With the approval of the Engineer General, you could be a great help to the UF Corps of Engineers."

The General turned to the brothers. "Mako, Bolin, we are always on the lookout for experienced fighters. I hear you used to be Pro Benders?"

Mako nodded, lost in his thoughts. He didn't like the idea of his friends joining the UF—the service was notorious for getting into the stickiest of situations all over the globe. Not to mention their incredible casualty rate. The fight to retake Republic City was not going to be any different. There would be huge amounts of destruction and plenty of danger.

_Even worse,_ Mako thought. _Bolin seems like he's going for it! Why does he always make it so hard for me to keep him safe?_

"Can we have some time to think?" Asami asked. The three friends looked at the General expectantly. Iroh thought for a moment, before nodding his approval.

"You can have one day," he said. "But realize if you decide to join the UF, you won't get any special treatment. Bumi and I didn't. We worked to get where we are."

"And he's a Crown Prince," Bumi remarked. Iroh rolled his eyes.

"Don't sell yourself short, Bumi," he replied. "You're the son of Avatar Aang and Master Katara. That's not exactly street trash."

The wild-haired man shrugged his shoulders indifferently. "Point is," he said. "We got to where we are by our merit alone. Not because of whom our parents were."

Bumi's words struck a chord with Asami. In that instant, she knew her answer to the General's offer. She knew how she could defeat her father, restore family's name, and make a legacy for herself; all at once. Talk about killing three birdfrogs with one stone.

"I'm in," she said, feeling a rush of adrenaline. The anticipation of getting started was making her antsy. She looked at the two brothers; Bolin looked like he had reached a similar decision.

"Me too," he agreed, avoiding his brother's eyes.

Mako looked from Asami to his brother several times. There would be no way he would let them do this without him.

"I guess that's three of us," the Firebender said. Iroh smiled.

"Good," he replied happily. "Now that we've cleared that up, I believe dinner is in order."

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

As far as dreams go, the one Korra had just awoken from had been pretty strange.

"Must have been something I ate," she said, looking down at the pile of fish bones that lay next to the coals of last night's fire. Nothing could keep the Avatar down for long, though.

"Oh well!" she exclaimed, jumping to her feet. "Time for some bending!"

Korra couldn't explain it, but for the past half day or so, she had felt as if the stream had been calling to her. This wasn't exactly new to her; sometimes a particular element would catch her fancy. Lately, it had been Firebending. Ever since she had studied for her firebending final, something about the element had captured her interest. Maybe it was the intensity, or the raw power. It could have been how she was able to project her will wherever she wanted. Whatever the reason, she had been fascinated by it. Now, though, the water was calling to her.

Korra pulled a ball of water from the stream, using it as she practiced through the forms. In her head, she could hear Katara's instructions as she moved through the stances. When she was done, Korra returned the water to the stream and sat down. It was too early to break camp; she wanted to stay by the water for a little bit. Why not meditate?

Meditation had gained a new importance in her life ever since that slimy weasel, Tarrlok, had imprisoned her.

Jerk.

She was glad his bending had been taken away. A bloodbender that powerful needed to be stopped. Like Yakone. Aang put a stop to that right away.

Korra felt slightly uneasy that someone had done her job for her. While the fact remained that the job _had been done_, it didn't stop her from feeling that everything the White Lotus Elders had told here was right. She wasn't ready. Sure she had mastered three elements, but she was about as close to the spiritual side of the elements as the Airbenders were to becoming the Air Nation once again.

"Which is why I'm meditating," Korra said through gritted teeth. She didn't like being told she was bad at something; who did? The memories were bad enough.

Korra took a deep breath and pushed the turbulent emotions out of her mind. The forest was quiet except for the chirps of the birdfrogs and the chatter of the fire ferrets. For a second, she forgot she was in the middle of a huge forest and felt like she was back on Air Temple Island.

Her thoughts drifted back to the water, though. With each deep, cleansing, breath, it filled her mind more and more. Finally, she decided to concentrate on it, much like she had concentrated on her hallucinations of Aang. The focus sparked something in her brain and a vision of the stream dominated her mind.

As if she was on a boat, a very fast boat, the scene in her mind sped down the stream, past a village or two, past forests, past mountains. The stream turned into a river and emptied into the sea. The vision in her mind dragged her along the shore of the sea towards a lonely mountain, separate from and higher than the rest. The vision sped along a winding path that lead up the mountain. Atop its highest peak sat a magnificent temple of green and brown stone, accented with gold trim.

"_Come."_

Korra gasped, opening her eyes. Except for the time she had made contact with Aang, her vision was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

"Was that you, again, Aang?" she whispered. She replayed the vision in her mind. The stream and the villages. The stream widening and growing into a powerful river. The forest, the mountains, and the building.

The voice she had heard, spoke again in her mind,

"_Come."_

It didn't take a genius to figure out what she was supposed to do next.

* * *

**Amon | Lieutenant**

* * *

Through the slits of his mask, Amon surveyed his city. Twilight had cast a golden glow over Republic City, and from his vantage point on top of the Future Industries Tower, the city appeared to be plated in the precious metal like a trophy.

The prize of his ambition

The door to the penthouse boardroom opened. Amon knew who it was.

"You sent for me?" a gravelly voice asked. Amon clasped his arms behind his back.

"I did, Lieutenant," he replied, turning to face his moustached second-in-command. "I have a very delicate task for you."

"I am yours to command," Lieutenant said, bowing deeply. Amon smiled behind the mask.

Perfect.

This man was his; mind, body, and soul.

"The Avatar, in her cowardice, has run away from Republic City." Amon turned back to the city's skyline, feeling the man behind him bristle in anger. Amon smiled again. It was humorous, how easy it was to control the Lieutenant.

He spun on his heel quickly, for effect, whipping his head around to face his second-in-command.

"Find her and bring her back. Incapacitated, or dead, if necessary."

The Lieutenant bowed his head. "You can count on me, sir."

* * *

**A/N: Yay for updates! Hard to figure out each character's canon; doing what research I can. Lol, Bolin + Bumi gonna be epic, or yes? And how 'bout that Amon? Sneaky bastard, isn't he?**

**With the whole Jinora seeing Aang in the waves; work with me here, guys. I got the idea from Aang talking to Roku, but couldn't come up with a better reason as to why Jinora was seeing Aang. Just go with it? **

**If you have comments on the story, mistakes you want to report, or canon items that need to be addressed, don't be shy! I'd love to hear from you. ****Thanks again to everyone who's reviewed.** Cheers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I : Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 4 : Making Plans | Assignments | A New-Old Friend**

* * *

**Jinora**

* * *

"I've decided that it's time for me to go."

Oma looked at the young Airbender. "I know, dear," she replied.

Jinora shuffled her feet, clasping her hands behind her back nervously. "Is there anything I can help you with before I leave? Like, a really big project that will make life easier for you?"

Oma, who was known for her ever-present stern look, smiled at Jinora. In the few days she had spent with the aging mother, the little Airbender had become the daughter she never had.

"That's okay, dear," she said. "What have you decided?"

Jinora looked back up at the kindly old woman. "I've got to travel to the Earth Temple in the Wu Don Province."

Oma nodded as she continued to prepare lunch. "That's a long way. Are you going to be traveling alone?"

Jinora was silent. She hadn't really thought much about the trip, except the 'going' part, since she had gotten back to the house, yesterday. Add that to the fact that she only had a vague notion of where the Wu Don Province was.

"I do have one request, though," Oma said as she rolled out the dough to make dumplings. "Could you take my son with you?"

The request surprised her. "Lee?" Jinora asked, confused.

Oma nodded. "I don't want to burden you with him," she said. "But I fear for him if he stays. His father-"

Oma fell silent. "There's nothing here for the boy," she said quietly.

Jinora thought it over. She liked Lee, he was a great guy. Always smiling, easy to get along with; even if he was a little scatterbrained. Nearly inseparable from his friend, Jin.

"I don't know, Oma," Jinora frowned. "Will he want to go? And leave Jin behind? Those two can hardly stand to be more than fifty meters apart from each other."

Oma stopped rolling out the dough and stared at the countertop. "I thought about that. That's why I was making the dumplings, to take over to Jin's grandfather."

Jinora walked around the counter and stood next to Oma, starting to help her out. They fell into a quick, efficient, rhythm; Oma rolling and cutting the dough, Jinora adding the potatoes and pressing the dumplings closed.

"He's not doing well," she continued, passing Jinora some freshly cut dough. "And it may be better for her not to be around when…"

The old lady stopped and shook her head. "I'll talk to him tonight," she resolved. Jinora didn't comment. It wasn't her place to pry.

The two worked in silence until Lee came barging through the door. "What smells so good?" he asked.

"Potato dumplings," Jinora replied. "Among other things."

"Since you're the one making them… I bet they're gonna be extra light and airy," Lee said, waggling his eyebrows in the most ridiculous way. He had been making Airbending jokes (bad ones, at that) ever since the girl had told Oma and her son that she was an Air Nomad.

"Lee," Oma said sternly. "Jinora has something she wants to ask you."

The boy looked at Jinora questioningly. The brown haired Airbender cleared her throat.

"Um, yeah," she said. "How would you like to take a trip with me?"

* * *

**Mako | Bolin | Asami**

* * *

Mako replayed the events of the past day in his head, trying to figure out just how he got into this situation. Yesterday, he had received orders telling him that he had been assigned to the UF Military Police. Bolin, on the other hand, had been assigned to Bumi's special squad. Asami had been sent in yet another direction; she had immediately been promoted by the Engineer General to be his special aide.

This was not what the Firebender had in mind, when he decided to join the UF. Mako had only been around for a day, and during that twenty-four hours, he had heard enough about Commander Bumi's special team to make him worried sick over his little brother.

This worry was how he found himself waiting outside General Iroh's office, picking white bits of lint off of his olive green UFMP uniform. He liked his new uniform well enough; what could he say? Every guy has a soft spot in his heart for military fatigues.

"The General will see you now," Iroh's aide said to Mako, motioning him to the office door. "Please go on in."

Mako stood, holding his hat in his hand. He walked over to the door of the office and gently turned the knob. He slid through the door, closing it behind him. General Iroh leaned busily over a map. One quick look was all Mako needed to see the familiar layout of Republic city and its surrounding area.

"Yes, Corporal?" the General prompted.

Mako bristled slightly at the mention of rank. He hated hearing it. He hated the suggestion that he was below people; like they were better than him. It was the same way he felt about the pompous rich fools who had always looked down their noses at him when he and Bolin were little.

"What is it you wish to discuss?" Iroh continued, sounding a wee bit annoyed. Mako cleared his throat.

"Ahem, yes," he said. "I wish to talk to you about a transfer."

Iroh raised his eyebrows, continuing to look at the map. "Oh?"

"Yes, sir," Mako continued. "I'd like to be reassigned to my brother's outfit."

Iroh nodded. "I see."

The General put down his pen and looked up at the Firebender. "The problem is," Iroh said, "Is that Commander Bumi doesn't want you in his crew."

This caught him off guard. "What?"

"He seems to think you're an emotional stick-in-the-mud," the firebending prince added. Mako really didn't know what to say. Which wasn't the entire truth—he knew exactly what to say. None of it was appropriate to say to a General, though. His surprise was something that nearly stopped him from opening his mouth.

Nearly.

"That is the stupidest—" Mako began. "Can't you make him—?"

"Yes I could," Iroh said, cutting him off. "But I won't. Because I agree with him that you're better suited for the MPs."

Mako tired one last time. "So there's—"

"There are no other alternative possibilities," the General said. "My decision is _final._"

Mako rolled his head back in frustration. He was just about to leave when Iroh stopped him.

"Are you forgetting something, Corporal?"

Mako turned back around and stood at attention. He raised his hand to his head in salute.

"Dismissed," Iroh said, picking up his pen and pouring over the map once more. Mako dropped his arm and briskly exited the room.

* * *

"Bolin!"

Asami waved her hand in the air, getting the earthbender's attention. She was sitting at a table in the mess, by herself, eating lunch. Bolin saw her and waved back. Even though he was just ten meters away he yelled back at her,

"Asami! Be right there!"

He turned to the guys he was with, "Sorry gentlemen, but the lady calls."

His new friends cheered and jeered him on.

"Yeah buddy!" Sang-Ok shouted, pounding Bolin on the back. "That's my boy!"

"What can I say?" Bolin said over his shoulder. "When you got it, you got it."

Asami shook her head, smiling at Bolin and the other soldiers. Their black uniforms marked them as part of the elite Special Operations Group. UFSOG, for short. They liked to tell people S.O.G. stood for Stylish 'Owesome Guys.

"How's it going?" Asami said, practically glowing.

"Great!" Bolin replied as he sat down. "Looks like everything's going great with you too—I don't think I've ever seen you this radiant."

"I'm loving this new job," Asami gushed. "The Engineer General has put me in charge of planning the new, permanent, UF base. I've been put in charge of an entire construction battalion."

Bolin shook his head as he slurped some seaweed noodles. "We've only been here a day!" he said with his mouth full. "How are you so awesome?"

"Oh stop," Asami replied, playing with her braid nervously. She'd never really gotten used to Bolin's off-hand flattery.

"And I'm digging the new look," Bolin continued. He waited a moment before continuing, "Get it? Because I'm an Earthbender and all that?"

"Yes, I get it!" Asami groaned. "And thanks."

"You should braid your hair more often," Bolin continued, slurping more noodles. "I'm still a big fan of the long, flowing, luscious, locks, though."

"As am I," someone interrupted. Asami looked up.

"The name's Sang-Ok," the black uniformed soldier said. "And these are the boys-Chen, Hari, and Chang. Mind if we join?"

"Not at all," Asami said, motioning to the open seats. "If you can find a seat, that is."

Sang-Ok laughed, sliding into the seat next to Bolin. He grabbed a handful of his friend's rice and popped it into his mouth.

"Sing, sang, sung!" Bolin belted out, slapping away Sang's hand. "What up, guys?"

The Earthbender turned to Asami. "Asami, this is my bunkmate, Sang."

Bolin turned to the four guys who joined them. "Boys, this is Asami. The only girl around here who could kick any of your butts in two seconds flat and look gorgeous doing it."

"Bolin!" Asami gasped, facepalming.

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

Korra ran into someone a lot sooner than she expected. Not literally, of course, but she heard him whistling from a long way off. It was possibly the worst song she'd ever heard in her life.

"_Set my lines by the river bed!"_

Korra cringed as she heard more of the song.

"_Caught ten fish and I killed them dead!"_

She came to a small clearing next to the stream, where a middle-aged man was busy baiting fishing lines. To the landlubber's eye, it would appear that he was doing just fine. But, Korra being Water Tribe and all that, she could easily tell that he wasn't going to score that many fish.

"Oh, hello," the man said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Great," Korra replied. "But can I ask you something?"

The middle-aged fisherman nodded his head.

"What are you doing?"

"Fishing," he replied. "Or, trying to, at least."

Korra nodded in agreement. "I can totally see the 'trying' part. Want some help?"

"Sure," he replied. "My name's Shyu."

"Korra," the avatar replied, sitting down next to the fisherman. "Let me show you how we do it in the Southern Water Tribe."

For the next three hours, Korra taught Shyu how to fish. Well, he already knew how to fish, but she taught him how to do it better. After those three hours, Shyu had caught more fish than he'd ever caught in a single day. Every time he pulled another fish out of the river, he laughed a deep, hearty, laugh and shook his head.

"Enough, enough," he laughed after pulling out what seemed to be the millionth fish. "Let's leave the poor fish alone for now. I got enough to last me for the next two weeks."

Korra raised an eyebrow. Stop now? They were hardly even starting!

Shyu knew what she was thinking. "No, Avatar," he said. "It is time we left this stream in peace. I have enough for the both of us, now."

Korra shrugged. "How'd you know I was the Avatar?"

Shyu grinned as he picked up the lines of fish the pair had caught. "Maybe it was the way you waterbended…"

Korra frowned. Bending one element gave her away?

"…Or maybe it was the way you earthbended right after you waterbended."

"Oh."

Shyu laughed. "It's not a big deal, unless you were trying to go incognito."

"I wasn't," Korra replied. "But now that you say that, I kind of feel like doing it. You know, slipping by like a ship in the night."

"You'll have an easy time of it out here," Shyu said, leading Korra away from the stream. "Except for our village, there isn't much out here."

He turned to the water tribe girl and beckoned with his head. "Come on; I'll buy you a hot meal. It's the least I can do for the help you've given me."

Korra's stomach grumbled its approval.

_Damn!_ She thought, following the kindly man. _Why am I always hungry?_

* * *

**A/N: Woah, so, just found out that Mako's working for the police in "Book 2". And I wrote the Mako | Asami | Bolin part before I knew that. Coincidence much? I'm really mad at myself for not updating more, but I'm getting them out as much as I can. Lol, ironically, as soon as school starts up for me, I'll probably be able to update more frequently. That, and when I finish my other stories. Doh. **

**Quick note about Mako's character; I see him as insanely loyal and protective of Bolin and Asami… also very emotionally driven. What do you think? Is my Mako in character? That goes for every character, I guess. Let me know what you think!**

**The Shyu part is going to be fairly interesting, I hope. Any guesses about where that name comes from?**

**Thanks for all the reviews; DaughteroftheKing, Avatar Sangmu, and ReaderOfBooks. Not to mention the anonymous reviewer! Leave a name, bro! (or broette) I hate calling people "guest" or "Anon-1".**


	5. Chapter 5

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I: Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 5: A Thousand Miles | Rescue | An Unpleasant Guest | Over the Wall**

* * *

**Jinora | Lee | Jin**

* * *

"Isn't this exciting?" Jin yelled in Lee's ear. The sleepy boy groaned in protest.

"Uggh," he grumbled. "Maybe it would be if we didn't have to get up so early."

Jinora laughed airily. "Early?" she said. "The sun's been up for nearly a half hour."

Lee frowned at the brown-haired girl, jealous of her awakeness. "Maybe it's a crazy Airbender thing to get up this early, but it's a tried and true Earth Kingdom tradition to sleep in."

Jin snorted. "Yeah, right. Maybe at your house it is."

"Besides," Jinora countered. "You live in the United Provinces, not the Earth Kingdom."

"Bah," Lee replied, waving her comment aside. "It's still the Earth Kingdom to us."

The three fell into a comfortable silence as they made their way down the dirt road. Jin's grandfather had been kind enough to help them map out a route to the temple; the gruff, old, man was more than happy to share his knowledge with the young trio of friends. Out of the three of them, Jin had understood the cartography lesson the best, leading Lee to proclaim her the 'official map person'.

"It's in our blood," Jin's grandfather had explained. "Why, in fact, every generation of our family has had some sort of map-maker or navigator in it. Have I ever told you youngsters about the time I was a cartographer in the 52nd Earth King's army?"

"Yes, grandfather," Jin had replied patiently.

"It was right at the end of the Hundred Years' War," he continued. Jin had sent both Jinora and Lee an apologetic look. Lee was too sleepy to catch it. Jinora smiled, indicating that she didn't mind.

It was Jin's grandfather's story that sparked excitement in Jinora. It reminded her of the many nights she had spent reading, by candlelight, the adventures her grandparents had experienced. Just the thought of their travels caused an intense feeling of longing for excitement like theirs, for quests, spirit-world prophecies, legendary fights and lengthy monologues by evil villains. Jinora was so wrapped up in these thoughts that she barely noticed she had turned the wrong way.

"Uh, Jinora," Jin asked. "Where are you going?"

The Airbender stopped in her tracks, blinked a few times, realizing she was almost into the woods.

"The path goes this way," Jin said, wearing an amused look on her face. Jinora blushed.

"Sorry," Jinora replied. "I was lost in my thoughts."

"Looks like you were going to be lost in the woods, too," Lee grinned. Jinora picked up a small pebble and tossed it at him.

"Ow," Lee cried dramatically. "Watch it! I was only teasing."

"I know," Jinora replied. "So was I—quit being such a big baby. That was, like, the smallest pebble in the world."

"It was a _boulder_," Lee complained. Jin rolled her eyes.

"What were you so lost in thought about?" she asked Jinora, hoping to distract the two from their good-natured quarrel. It was too early for a battle of wits. Not that Lee had any, that is.

"I was thinking about the adventures of Avatar Aang and his friends," she replied, looking dreamily down the worn path. "I was thinking how our journey was kind of like that…"

Jin frowned. "Who's adventures?" Jinora gave her a look.

"Avatar Aang?" she asked. Jin's hands flew to her mouth.

"Oh, right," she laughed, embarrassed. "Wow! Sorry about that, airhead moment!"

Lee laughed at the look on Jinora's face. "You're really earthbending yourself into a hole, Jin," he snickered.

"Sorry," Jin said to the brown-haired Airbender. "As an actual airhead, I guess you wouldn't find that very funny."

Lee decided to come to her rescue. "What's these adventures you're talking about? All we hear in school is 'blah, blah, blah, Avatar Aang defeated the Fire Lord Ozai on this date… you know, the boring stuff."

Jinora raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You mean you've never heard the full story?"

Her two friends shook their heads.

"Well," the Airbender began. "It all began one afternoon in the South Pole, when a boy and a girl found this giant iceberg…"

* * *

**Mako | Bolin**

* * *

Mako gripped the top of the wall, standing next to the other guards in his squad, staring intently into the night. He had been on edge for the better part of the last five hours while the raid was in progress. As far as they knew, Commander Bumi and his men were either captured or killed.

Having his brother nearby didn't help his nerves either. Ever since General Iroh had ordered the building of the wall, it had become a target for the Equalist aeroplanes and airships. While the majority of the United Forces Military Police (who patrolled the walls) were firebenders, there had been an increase of earthbenders put on the force to deal with re-construction and detonating the bombs before impact. Or, as the earthbenders liked to call it, "target practice".

The idea behind the wall was simple and logical. Surround Republic City on land with a huge wall and cut off the ports with a naval blockade. Cut down on what goes in and what comes out. Force the equalists to use expensive air transportation to get supplies. No, Mako's uneasiness wasn't about the General's strategy. His uneasiness was caused by the ever-increasing probability of a fight breaking out on the wall, with himself and Bolin in the middle of it.

**Mako's Street Survival Rule No. 3:** If you know when and where there's going to be a fight, avoid it.

Bolin was equally nervous. He was nervous about his friend Sang, who had been chosen for the mission. He was nervous because he was part of the stand-by group, Tao-Two. Mostly though, he was nervous because he didn't want to let any of his new friends down.

Bolin had been in fights before, but never ones with a certainty of death. This was one problem he couldn't laugh away. For a guy who always seemed to appear confident and larger than life, in his heart of hearts, he was still a scared little boy. It was comforting to have his brother there with him but it was also another added pressure. Would he be there for Mako, when his brother needed him?

The stillness of the night was broken by a faint cry. Bolin cocked his ear towards Republic City. Was that—?

"WAAAAHOOOO!"

There was no mistaking it. Bumi and his men were closing in on the wall. Soldiers, healers, and officers flew into action.

"Tao-Two!" Bolin's commander yelled. "Stand by to assist!"

The Earthbender moved with his fellow SOG buddies towards the newly-constructed gate. Bolin felt his body dump a load of adrenalin into his bloodstream, causing his heart rate to skyrocket.

From his vantage point on the wall, Mako was the first to see Bumi and his raiders. The soldiers seemed to be split between two trucks and … a mecha tank?

"YEEEEHAAAAAW!" Bumi whooped from the seat of the mecha tank. The door to the cockpit had been blown off and there was no mistaking the driver. There was only one person in the world with hair like that. Bumi whirled on the pursuing Equalists, giving the two truckloads of UF soldiers time to make it to the safety of the wall.

"Tao-Two!" Bolin heard his commanding officer bark. "To the Commander! Rearguard action!"

Mako's commanding officer gave a similar order. He and the other firebenders able to lightningbend used their bolts of lightning to take out a few of the Equalist mecha tanks and motorcycles. Mako sent a bolt towards a large armored truck, frying the motor and causing it to swerve out of control, flipping on its side.

Bolin ran to the defense of his SOG brothers. The group let the two trucks whiz past them before stepping blatantly in between the Equalists and their prey. Bumi pulled a three-sixty with his stolen mecha tank (something that looked like it shouldn't have been possible) and toed the line with Tao-Two.

"WAAAAHOOO!" Bumi cried, surging forwards.

"WAAAAHOOO!" his soldiers answered, following their leader. Bolin felt another incredible rush as he joined the fight; a good thing too, because if he hadn't been doped up on adrenaline he probably would've been run over by an Equalist and his motorcycle. At the last second, Bolin bent a large rock wall in front of the motorcycle. The chi-blocker jumped off, flipping over the wall, but the motorcycle wasn't so lucky. Bolin's opponent landed on all fours in front of him; the chi-blocker swept his leg in a circle, hoping to knock the earthbender over.

Bolin jumped over the sweeping leg; he landed forcefully on the ground, using his momentum to bend the earth underneath the Equalist into the air. With what seemed like inhuman speed, his opponent tossed himself to the side, avoiding Bolin's column of stone.

Mako fought as much as he could from the wall; his commanding officer had forbidden him from directly engaging the enemy.

"Your place is on this wall," he had said. Mako gritted his teeth in reply, not at all happy.

The moody firebender had every intention of obeying the order; he wasn't the kind of guy who was all, "fight the power" and stuff like that. The fact of the matter was that Mako just didn't like being told what to do.

However, when he saw another chi-blocker sneaking up behind his brother, bolas whipping viciously through the air, every intention of following orders went out the window. Quicker than a lightning bolt, he was vaulting himself over the edge of the wall.

"Corporal!" he heard his commanding officer yell. "Get back here!"

Mako ran as fast as he could towards his brother and the two chi-blockers. When he was nearly two-thirds of the way there, he took two large hop-steps and unleashed a fire blast with the full force of his protective fury behind it.

Bolin was busy squaring off with his opponent when he felt the sudden sensation of almost being char-broiled. The sensation was cut short by the most piercing, inhuman, bone-chilling scream Bolin had ever heard in his entire life. His opponent was equally distracted and Bolin took the opportunity to send a chunk of rock into his stomach, knocking him back twenty feet.

Mako's fiery outburst marked the turning point of the fight. The Equalists, outnumbered, began to pull back. The SOG soldiers laughed, joked, and made fun of the each other as they made their way back through the gate. Bolin tried to grin and joke with the rest of them, but his heart wasn't in it. All he could think about was the inhuman scream, and how lucky he was to have survived.

"You disobeyed a direct order!" Captain Yuri yelled. Mako stood at attention, his eyes straight ahead. "You were told to stay on the wall, were you not?"

"Yes sir," Mako answered.

"And do you deny that you disobeyed the order?"

"No sir," Mako said. On the surface, he was calm. Underneath, he was seething.

The captain sighed. "For the rest of this week, you are to report to the kitchens after every meal for dish duty. Dismissed."

Mako watched as his superior walked off towards the group of prisoners the raiders had rescued. Out of curiosity he took a closer look; Mako recognized a few members of the council, several high-ranking police officers, and to his surprise, Lin Bei Fong, amongst the group. The ex-chief of police caught his eye, holding his gaze for a few seconds before looking away.

* * *

**Korra | Shyu**

* * *

"Best gruel in town," Shyu promised. Korra made a face.

"Are you being serious?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer. Shyu laughed.

"Of course I am!" he replied, watching the Avatar's face fall. "Don't worry though, they serve other things."

The pair entered the small town, immediately making their way towards the small market. Shyu sold his fish to one of the vendors, pocketing a sizeable bag of silver coins.

"Very fresh! Good quality, too!" the saleswoman praised. Shyu thanked her for doing business and walked with Korra towards the village's only tavern.

"Here," he said, trying to give her some of the coins. "You deserve some of this…"

Korra stared at the coins; she was about to take some when, on a whim, she declined.

"That's okay," she said, gently pushing his hand away. "I've never really had money and I don't know what I'd do with it."

Shyu looked at the coins, smiled, and shook his head. "In that case," he said, "The least I can do is buy you a hot meal."

"I think that's a fair trade," the mocha-skinned girl replied. She followed Shyu into the seedy-looking tavern. It was fairly empty, but then again, it was also still late afternoon - early evening. Shyu got them two bowls of steaming hot noodles, leading her to a table in the corner.

"So," he asked. "How does the Avatar end up in the middle of nowhere?"

"Well," Korra said, putting down her chopsticks. "My friends and I were escaping Republic City in a stolen airship… we crashed in the forest and I got separated from them."

Shyu nodded, chewing with his mouth closed and motioning with his chopsticks for her to continue.

"I tried to look around for them, but nothing," Korra continued, looking down at her bowl of noodles. "Then I kind of got this feeling I should follow the stream."

"Like an itch?" Shyu asked, grinning. Korra laughed quietly and shook her head.

"Actually," she said, picking up her bowl and chopsticks, "I was meditating and I got this vision."

Shyu said nothing, looking thoughtfully at the young avatar. Korra misunderstood his gaze.

"Heh, heh," she laughed nervously. "Pretty dumb, right? Listening to the water for advice."

The water tribe girl busied herself with her noodles feeling embarrassed.

"I don't think that's dumb at all," Shyu said. "Actually, I'm surprised that someone of your generation actually took time to listen to the world. No one really does that anymore—they're too busy doing this, or doing that."

Korra ventured a look up at her new friend's face; expecting some kind of smile, Korra was surprised to see Shyu's face harden. She realized that he wasn't looking at her, but _past_ her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, turning around. Shyu shook his head.

"Nothing Korra," he said, fumbling to keep her attention. The Avatar continued to look around the tavern, her eyes finally resting upon a big, hairy, man with a disgusted look on his face.

"What's that big furball's problem?" she asked, frowning. Shyu sighed.

"Nothing," the fisherman lied. "Just eat your noodles and don't pay him any attention."

The big furball pushed himself off of the wall and started walking towards the pair's table. He was followed closely behind by a few thinner-looking lackeys. Korra stared him down as he got closer.

"Hey, darkie," the hairy man challenged, the undertone of aggression painfully obvious in his voice. "What 'chu think you're doing in our town?"

* * *

**Lieutenant**

* * *

The sounds of fighting were faint in the distance. Using the darkness of the night, the Lieutenant and his team quickly made their way over to the shadow of the wall. Two of the Equalists took out padded grappling hooks. Tossing them up over the wall, they pulled on the ropes to make sure they held.

The Lieutenant motioned for two of his chi-blockers to scale the wall and secure the top.

_Quiet_ he mouthed.

The two went up the wall; a few seconds later, they signaled the all clear. The Lieutenant and his three other companions all made their way up the ropes and then over the other side of the wall. As quickly as they had come, they were gone, disappearing into the dark forest on the UF side of the wall.

* * *

**A/N:Yup, long chapter. The Mako|Bolin part got shortened; the focus will be on Iroh|Asami in the next chapter. With a dash of Bolin. As always, please let me know what you think! Thanks to LunaLove25, Avatar Sangmu, nequam-tenshi, and the anonymous reviewers for leaving their thoughts! **

**If you spot any mistakes, please point them out. Peace!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I: Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 6: Interrupted | Late-Night Rendezvous | Past the Boiling Point**

* * *

**Jinora | Lee | Jin**

* * *

The trio stopped for lunch around midday. Checking her map, Jin noted, to everyone's surprise, they had already hiked three miles.

"That deserves an extra dumpling," Lee said, reaching for the tasty lump of dough, vegetables, and meat. Jinora airbended them into the air and out of his reach.

"Not so fast!" Jinora caught the bag of dumplings as it fell from the air. "We need these to last—we've only gone three miles and the Wu Don Province is _hundreds_ of miles away."

Lee deflated. Slumping his shoulders, he chewed morosely on a piece of seal jerky. "Wow," he said. "That's great-thanks for brightening my day."

The two girls laughed. "It's not going to be that bad—" Jin said. "This morning wasn't too hectic."

"No," Lee admitted. "And we'll get better and better at hiking and camping."

The two girls nodded their heads in agreement. Jinora was about to say something, when she was cut off.

"Well, well, well," a stranger said, walking into the middle of their campsite. "Hope you saved some lunch for your brothers, Lee."

Surprised, the young airbender quickly turned around. Walking towards her and her friends was a tall-ish brown-haired boy. Jinora guessed the stranger was about Korra's age. She looked over at her friend, Jin; the poor girl's eyes were wide in fear. Lee also looked a little afraid of the older boy, but he was more obviously defiant.

"What are you doing here, Chao?" the younger boy questioned.

"Oh nothing," Chao replied, inspecting his nails. "Me and the boys were just out looking for you. We miss you, Lee, and so does Dad. He was awful mad when he heard you were leaving. Especially without his permission!"

Four other boys stepped out of the brush and into the clearing surrounding the three friends. Chao shook his head reprovingly.

"Why didn't you come say goodbye to us?" he asked.

Jinora's mind raced as her eyes flitted between each of the brothers. These guys probably weren't interested in being gentle with the three friends. It was obvious that they were going to have to fight to get out of there. The problem was that both Lee and Jin didn't look like they were in any condition to fight; heck, Jinora didn't even know if they could fight!

Which meant it was up to Jinora to do something. But what to do?

_What would Korra do? _her brain asked.

_Korra would fight_, Jinora thought to herself. _Not only because she likes to fight, but because her friends would be in trouble. _

The Airbender slowly picked herself up and placed herself in between Lee and his brother, Chao. "Lee, Jin," she commanded in a low, serious voice. "Pack everything up. _Now._"

Lee slowly got up and began to stuff things into his bag, his eyes never leaving any of his five brothers. Jin didn't move, though. She continued to sit, paralyzed.

"Listen, girlie," Chao said, lowering himself into a fighting stance. "This is between me and my brother. He knows that nobody is allowed to leave the town, or the family."

"I'm not going back with you," Lee said, his voice quaking ever so slightly.

"Oh yes you are," Chao replied darkly. "And you're going to pay for leaving."

Jinora lowered herself into a stance of her own. She could tell by experience that none of the brothers were particularly good fighters.

"Perhaps you didn't hear him," she said to Chao. "But he's not going with you."

"And what are you going to do about it?"

Jinora extended her left hand forwards while slowly pulling her right hand back, as if she was telling Chao to "stop". Which, in a manner of speaking, she was.

Chao laughed. "Ohh," he cried sarcastically, mockingly clasping his hands together. "Please don't hurt me!"

"Okay," Jinora replied. "I won't."

The airbender suddenly stepped forwards, shooting a blast of air at Chao from her right hand. The gust of wind caught the seedy-looking teenager dead on, sending him tumbling backwards into the forest. Lee's other four brothers stood slack-jawed, hardly believing that their brother, the best fighter out of all of them, had just been knocked twenty feet into the forest by a twelve year old girl. Jinora took the opportunity to blast each of them into the woods.

"Let's go!" she yelled, slinging her pack on her back. As she ran, Jinora grabbed Lee and Jin by their shirts, pulling them with her. Lee stumbled a bit and then started running on his own; Jin, on the other hand, seemed like she literally had to be pulled out of her paralytic state. Jinora's rough pull seemed to do the trick and Jin took off after Lee in a dead sprint. Stopping by the edge of the clearing, Jinora checked the woods for any signs of life. None of the brothers looked like they were going to give chase anytime soon. With her face set with a mask of grim satisfaction, Jinora took off after her friends.

* * *

**Iroh | Asami | Bolin**

* * *

"Thank you again for your cooperation, Miss Bei Fong," Asami heard. The dark haired girl straightened up in her chair, looking expectantly at the door to General Iroh's office. The door opened and out came the serious-looking, gray-haired, ex-chief of police.

Lin regarded the young Sato with an impassive look.

"Miss Sato," Lin greeted.

"Lin," the dark haired girl replied. Lin gave a curt nod and left the room. General Iroh appeared in the doorway of his office.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," he said. Asami smiled.

"No problem," she assured him, slipping by him and into the office. "I know you have other things to do than listen to my construction reports."

Iroh stood for a moment, mesmerized by the girl's smile. He noticed that she had braided her hair and decided that he liked it better when it was down.

"Uh, yes," Iroh stuttered, shaking his thoughts away. "Well, everything has equal importance to me. No one gets placed over another."

"Refreshing," Asami commented, uncapping a long tube of technical drawings. She pulled a large sheaf of blueprints and laid them on the general's desk.

"Please," Iroh said dryly. "Make yourself at home. At my desk. In my office."

"Oh," Asami blushed. "I'm sorry—I'm not used to this whole army thing—"

Asami clamped her mouth shut and began to pick up her drawings. She felt a hand grasp her arm in a gentle but firm grip. Asami looked at the hand, following it up the arm and finally meeting the gaze of the golden-eyed prince.

"I was just kidding," he apologized. "I know you're not used to this and I hope I didn't offend you."

"You could never offend me, General," Asami replied.

"Iroh," he corrected her. "Unless we're in public, please call me Iroh."

"Of course, Iroh."

The two stood silently for a second, just looking at each other. It was Iroh who broke the silence.

"Um, right," he stuttered, gesturing to the sheaf of blueprints. "What did you have for me?"

Asami brightened. "Oh! Yes, well, the new and improved United Forces camp is roughly a quarter of the way done. We ended up spending a lot of time on the sewage system, putting us two days off schedule."

Iroh raised an eyebrow at the sheet of paper she was showing him. "Two days off of a fairly aggressive schedule."

Asami shrugged and allowed him a small smile. "Well, perhaps."

"You have to be careful about overworking the men."

"Not to worry," Asami assured him. "I have that completely under control."

"Tell me more," the general prompted.

* * *

The sound of raucous laughter did nothing to improve Bolin's subdued mood. He sat in the middle of a packed mess hall, surrounded by his SOG buddies who were celebrating the successful raid.

"Gentlemen," Commander Bumi cried out. The mess hall quieted down significantly. The wild-looking officer raised up a half-empty bottle of saki.

"For the soldiers that never make it home."

Bumi tipped the bottle over, pouring out the liquid. Many of the SOG soldiers bowed their heads in grim assent.

"Now," Bumi cried, smashing the now-empty bottle on the ground. "On with the festivities!"

Bolin got up to make his exit. Squeezing past people, he made his excuses while he wove his way out of the packed mess hall. Once outside, Bolin took a deep breath of the cool night air. He didn't really feel much like celebrating. It wasn't his victory.

The earthbender thought about the raid, shuddering again as the memory of the enemy chi-blocker's scream flitted through his mind. Grabbing the side of a building, he waited for the moment to pass. He never thought the fighting would bother him this much; the fighting in the Pro-Bending Arena didn't. Then again, nobody ever died in the Arena. Not that he knew of, anyways. Bolin didn't even remember feeling like this when he lived on the streets with Mako; the two of them usually always seemed to avoid the triad fights.

The earthbender looked at his hands and wondered if he could ever use them to take a life.

"Excuse me."

A tall overcoat-clad figure brushed by Bolin. While it took him a while to recognize the ex-chief of police, it was only a few seconds before he got a crazy idea.

"Chief Bei Fong!"

Bolin took off after the ex-earthbender, calling her name. Lin sighed and turned around. At this rate she was never going to get home. Not that you could call that miserable bunk of hers "home".

"What do you want?" she asked harshly. Bolin wilted under the fierce gaze.

"I, uh, well, how are you, um…"

Lin frowned. "Spit it out, boy!"

Bolin took a deep breath. "Willyoutrainmeinearthbending?"

"What?"

Bolin took another deep breath. "Will you train me in earthbending?"

Lin felt a rush of angry emotions. "Sorry, kiddo. I'm not in that business anymore."

Turning deftly, she began to walk away from the hapless earthbender.

"No, I know that!" Bolin scurried after her. "Chief Bei Fong- wait!"

Lin stopped, whirling again on the young man.

"I'm not a police chief anymore," she growled, "And since I can't earth or metal bend anymore, I'm not a Bei Fong either. Would you just leave me alone? I'd rather not be reminded right now, about how everything's been taken away from me!"

"What?" Bolin gasped. "How does that not make you a Bei Fong? "

"Save it, kid," Lin spat, turning to leave once again.

"No, you don't understand!" Bolin yelled. "Even without the ability to bend anymore, your still ten times the earthbender I'll ever be!"

Lin stopped dead in her tracks, shocked. The humble and perhaps self-deprecatory confession shocked her so much that she forgot completely about being angry at the lad.

"Amon didn't take away your knowledge of bending—he just took away your ability to, right?" Bolin gave her a pleading look. "Please, Miss… Lin. I'm not a very good bender. The only reason I'm in the Special Operations Group is because the Commander thinks I'm funny! How am I going to watch their backs and pull my weight, if I keep earthbending the way I have been?"

Lin turned around and drew herself up to her full height, regarding the young earthbender with a calculating look. It was hard to believe he was anything but genuine, standing there with his hands clasped together and that pleading look in his eyes.

_Who knows?_ she thought. _This could be what I need too. _Uncle Zuko had always told her that destiny was a funny thing.

"Very well," she said. "I'll teach you what I can."

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Bolin smiled. He clasped his hands together in the age-old sign of respect.

"Thank you, Master Lin."

Despite herself, the ex-earthbender smiled.

* * *

**Korra | Shyu**

* * *

"What did you call me?"

Shyu noticed the undercurrent of anger in Korra's voice. Desperately, he tried to diffuse the situation.

"Dishi," he said. "Please. Leave us alone."

The large villager ignored the fisherman. "Let me give you some free advice, darkie. Leave."

Korra stood up, matching his stare eyeball for eyeball. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

Dishi snorted. "I don't care if you're the Avatar! We don't like your kind around here and I think you should get going. _Now._"

Korra folded her arms across her chest. "And what if I don't leave?"

Dishi smashed his foot into the ground, causing a chunk of rock to pop up into the air. He cocked his fist back menacingly.

"If you don't leave," he growled menacingly, "I'll make you."

"Korra, don't!" Shyu called out. The mocha-skinned girl ignored him.

"You know what," she said, her voice dangerously low. "You really should care if I'm the Avatar."

Before Dishi could react, Korra kicked a boulder into the air and launched it at the large, hairy, villager. The rock caught Dishi in the stomach, knocking him forcefully through the side of the tavern, into the middle of the street.

"Korra, stop!"

Shyu tried to grab at Korra but the Avatar had already jumped through the hole after Dishi. The large man struggled to his feet, groaning from the blow.

"You're gonna regret that," he spat out, kicking a few rocks at Korra's head. She dodged one, kicked another away, and finally head-slammed a third. Dishi kicked a rock at Korra's stomach, which she jumped over; as she landed, she bent the earth under Dishi upwards, launching the hapless villager into the air. With a spinning fire-kick, she knocked him down the main street and through the front of someone's house.

"What's wrong?" Korra jeered, walking leisurely after him. "Nothing to say now? Still think I should get out of town?"

As Dishi stumbled to untangle himself from the wreckage of the home, Korra roared, breathing fire into the air and sending out simultaneous fire blasts from each hand.

Terrified, Dishi shielded himself as best as he could with his one free arm.

"Korra!"

Shyu planted himself in-between the racist earthbender and the Avatar, deflecting her fiery outburst from the hapless man.

"As the Avatar, such actions are completely beneath you. You shame yourself and the name of the Avatar if you continue to attack this helpless man!"

For lack of a better word, Korra was stunned. "What are you talking about!" she shouted. "He's the one threatening me! HE was the one picking a fight with ME!"

Korra was on a roll. "And who the Koh are you to talk to me that way? I'm the Avatar!"

"I am a Fire Sage," Shyu proclaimed, stunning the surrounding villagers. "The last of a long line of Fire Sages, chosen to one day teach and advise the Avatar on his or her journey. And right now, I will advise you to stand down."

"This is unbelieveable," Korra proclaimed. "He's—"

"You're the one who attacked first," Shyu replied. "You're the one who destroyed half the village. You knew he was no match for you, yet you gave in to your petty desires and instigated a fight."

"Was he wrong?" Shyu continued. "Yes, he was completely wrong to say those things. But your hands aren't clean either."

"So what would you have me do?" Korra asked sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Please, advise me, o great Fire Sage."

Shyu narrowed his eyes. "I would advise you to put out the fires you started, rebuild what you have damaged, and consider very heavily what you have done."

The under-cover Fire Sage stood, clasped his hands together in the traditional sign of respect and bowed to Korra.

"I would thank you for the fishing lessons." He said before turning away. "They were most helpful."

Korra seethed inwardly. And although her mind directed most of her anger at Shyu, she knew he was right. And that was the worst part of all. Angrily, she bent water from a nearby well and put out the fires she had created.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, well, Korra side-trip arc is over! Felt like she needed some kind of "deal with your consequences" thing to happen; also got the idea to throw in a little racism, mainly to show that it's everywhere, even in worlds like the Avatarverse. It is a very real and destructive thing. Anyways, Korra had something like this happen when she first came to RC; the only problem is that she never faced the consequences of her actions. **

**Bolin side note—In my eyes, Bolin is the kind of guy who hides behind a smile, holding what he really feels inside of him. In Bolin's mind, if he pretends hard enough that he's happy, it just might end up that way. IMO, of course. He needed to grow up a little and Lin needed some help too. **

**Not a lot of Mako here; he's busy washing dishes **

**And is Irosami endgame? Perrrrrhaps.**

**Comments? Questions? Please leave them behind! Great to hear from all of you; iin particular, LunaLove25, Avatar Sangmu, nequam-tenshi, BebePanda401 (awesome review! Thanks!), BlazeIce9967, Lunar Kasumi, and Harryhood 16. Thanks guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I: Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Explanations | Getting down with the Dishes | Maybe Lessons have been Learned**

* * *

**Jinora | Lee | Jin**

* * *

"I think we can stop now."

The trio's jogging slowed to a walk, which eventually slowed to a halt. Lee bent over at the waist, curling his arms around his abdomen.

"Good," he said. "Because I think lunch is going to make a second appearance."

The two girls turned away from him.

"Gross!" Jin cried out, shielding her eyes with her hands. Feeling bad for him, Jinora turned back to the young boy and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Stand up," she said. "Stand up and put your hands on your head; take deep breaths, Lee."

Lee did as he was told and commenced some serious air-sucking. The girls waited for him to feel better. Jin turned to her friend.

"How did you do that thing with the air," Jin asked. "And the fighting! Weren't you afraid?"

"Oh," Jinora replied bashfully, unused to hearing such praise. "Well, my dad taught me."

"Your dad?" Jin asked. "Is he an Airbender too?"

Jinora smiled at the girl's innocence. It was a bittersweet smile though. One half amused, the other half guilty. She hadn't thought of her missing family for a full three days now; the trip had consumed her every waking moment.

"He was the best," she told her. "The last master of Airbending in this entire world."

"Was?" Jin asked. "You mean—"

The girl stopped, covering her mouth with her hand in horror.

"Oh my gosh," she said, gingerly reaching out to reach Jinora. "I didn't—I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine," Jinora assured her, clasping the offered hand gently. She took a deep breath, and like water flowing down a waterfall, the words spilled out of her. Jinora told her friends everything; her life in Republic City, the Equalist attack on the Air Temple, her family escaping on Oogi.

She told them about Lin's sacrifice, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"After that, the next thing I remember is waking up on your beach," she finished. Neither Jin nor Lee said anything as the trio walked down the dusty road. Jinora felt really good, telling her two friends everything, but she also felt uneasy at the lengthy silence. It was a lot to take in, sure, but that didn't stop her from feeling uneasy. How would they react now? What were they thinking? Was telling them the wrong thing to do?

Suddenly, Lee (who was walking in the middle of the two) reached out and wrapped his arms around the two girl's shoulders.

"I'm glad you showed up," he told her, grinning his goofy smile. Jinora looked down, smiling herself.

"Me too," Jin said, meaningfully. They walked like that for a while, none of them talking.

"Do you think you could teach me some of that Airbending stuff?" the Earth Kingdom girl asked.

Jinora gave her a weak, apologetic, grin. "You have to be born with the ability to Airbend," she explained. Noticing the girl's face fall, she added quickly, "But not all Airbending is shooting air out of your fingers. There's plenty of other stuff I can show you, if you want."

Jin smiled. "Great!"

"I'll just sit and watch," Lee said with a straight face. The two girls rolled their eyes.

"I suppose you can join us," Jinora said.

"Gee, thanks," Lee replied as his friends laughed.

* * *

**Mako**

* * *

They were definitely doing this on purpose; he was sure of it.

No one, _no one_, made this much of a mess when they cooked. Each of the pots had something black or brown fused to it; Mako was tempted to set fire to the whole thing and leave.

But, he couldn't. Because desertion meant death. Mako hadn't gone through the UF training camp, but he had heard awful stories about how rigorous the training was. If this had been any other time he would have certainly gone through that same boot camp. Circumstances were different now, though. The UF was desperate for manpower to help contain the Equalists to Republic City.

It was obvious they were trying to teach him a lesson. The suffocating heat of the steamy kitchen, the dirtiness of the pots, the length of the punishment; Mako had to stay until all the dishes had been washed.

And dinner hadn't even started.

_It_ _is__ punishment, stupid,_ Mako thought to himself. The fact that he was getting reprimanded didn't bother him much, quite the opposite. With the heat of the moment behind him, he could clearly see why he was being punished. He disobeyed a direct order.

Did that mean, given a second chance at the situation, that he'd act differently? No. Mako was sure of one thing; Bolin's side was where he would stand, come hell or high water. He'd face Amon if it meant saving his brother's life.

The moody firebender sighed. The pot he was currently working on was giving him some extra trouble—what were they cooking in there? Baked tar? Did they know that pot-stickers weren't supposed to end up glued to the side of the pot? If he was a waterbender, this would probably be a lot easier.

Mako snorted. He could hardly imagine Korra dealing with this in a reasonable (or peaceful) manner. Disciplining Korra wasn't something you did easily. Or at all, for that matter. Tenzin seemed to be the only one with a handle on her.

Korra.

The only person who was able to stroll right into his life and burn his carefully constructed world to the ground. A brief image of Korra setting fire to his apartment flashed through his mind. It was so real-such a _Korra_ thing to do, that he could even hear her little-kid laughter in his ears. Standing there in that stupidly pretty dark-blue anorak, holding her stomach as she laughed her head off…

"Hey pretty-boy!" the cook yelled. "Quit day dreaming and keep scrubbing! These pots are starting to pile up!"

"Yes, sir," Mako replied. Figures Korra would be the one to get him in trouble even when she wasn't around.

But where was she? It was the question that had been driving him nuts for the past week. It wasn't like he could go look for her; that whole 'death for desertion' thing was a strong deterrent. As was the dying wish of his parents, which was to keep Bolin safe.

_Besides,_ he thought bitterly. _It's not like she needs anyone's help. Least of all, mine._

Of all the people in the world, he had to run into the single-most individualistic girl in the entire world. He had no handle on her and she seemed to have some kind of weird grip on him. Something that kept him wanting. Compared to Asami, that is, who was pretty much the total opposite; Asami seemed to fit right into his life while Korra broke down the door and made herself right at home. And there was something about that which made him desperate for more.

Every second he spent with Korra—it was a second that he spent outside of that familiar rigid world of his. And when he did that, ventured outside the control, he felt a certain rush. Adrenaline. The excitement of the unknown. It was like flying through the air, not worrying about how you were going to land.

_Maybe that's just it,_ he thought. _All my life has been about rules, about things I have to do for everyone else. Korra's all about doing things for herself, a little selfish, but still different to me. _

Of course, there was the glaringly obvious fact that being with Asami just made so much more sense. She was beautiful, exciting, ambitious; Mako wasn't a gold digger, per se, but the fact that she was rich wasn't that bad either. Asami was someone he never thought he'd get to know, even in a million years. And _she_ was the one to see something in _him_! Part of him felt an obligation to be with her, just because the chances were so one-in-a-million-ish.

Mako frowned. Asami was a little out of the picture now, though. He knew enough about relationships to know that she probably wasn't okay with cuddling anymore. The dark-haired firebender sighed. He had really screwed that one up. Where had it all gone wrong?

_From the beginning_, Mako's cynical side told him. He dismissed the thought; it had gone wrong when Korra had kissed him and he kissed her right back. At the time it felt rebellious and defiant, but towards whom Mako didn't know. Certainly not towards Asami. Could he chalk that one up as being in the 'heat of the moment?'

_Heh,_ he laughed to himself. _Two fire benders caught up in the heat of the moment. A few more jokes like that and I'll have to start calling myself Bolin._

A few moments passed and the only sound was that of a scrubbing pad on an iron pot. As he rinsed the pot clean of crud and suds, he reached a decision. He would apologize to Asami. It wasn't fair, everything he had put her through; apologizing was the least he could do.

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

"Hello Korra."

The Avatar groaned. Figures the last person she wanted to talk to was the first person to seek her out when she was on break.

"The houses look good."

Korra gave Shyu a look. "Come to advise me some more?"

The tall fire sage sighed wearily. "No," he said. "I came to give you something to eat."

When Korra saw the tray of food and the bowl of water, she felt a pang of guilt for being so abrasive. Gratefully, she accepted the meal.

"Thanks," she offered. Shyu nodded his head.

"How goes the construction?" he asked, making conversation. Korra shrugged.

"It's not too difficult," she replied. "It's just earthbending. A little tough to get so precise at first, but I shook the rust off pretty quick."

Another silent moment.

"The villagers are grateful," Shyu offered. Korra shrugged again, not knowing how to feel about the compliment. Shyu sighed, standing up.

"I fear you have a difficult journey ahead of you," he said, folding his hands into his sleeves. "It's not the road that will be difficult, but the battles that will happen when the initial journey is at its end. I urge you, Avatar Korra, to be open. Open in your mind and in your thoughts."

Korra frowned. "What do you mean?"

"That being said," Shyu continued, ignoring her. "Your work here is done. You are free to leave whenever you please."

The formerly incognito Fire Sage turned around, walking gracefully away. Korra could now see that he was indeed a Firebender—the way he walked was a dead give-away. Draining the rest of her water, Korra put down the wooden bowl and surveyed the village. A pair of men walked into the village carrying buckets of water. They staggered under the weight, one's knees almost giving out. Picking up the bowl of rice Shyu had given her, Korra resolved to complete one last construction project before she left.

**…~o~0~O~0~o~…**

Shyu watched as the mocha-skinned girl began bending a deep hole in the middle of the village's main street. After several minutes, satisfied with the depth of the hole, she bent a circular wall of stones around the perimeter of the hole. And that was it.

He smiled to himself as he watched her leave; she didn't say a word to anyone as she walked right out of the village, seemingly oblivious to the wondrous stares of the villagers. Shyu walked quickly over to the edge of the hole; his suspicions were confirmed. It was a well.

_Maybe she learned something after all_, he mused.

* * *

**A/N: Be the leaf! **

**Thanks to the following for reviewing; Miss-Li-Ding, InMyOwnWorldAgain, BebePanda401, LunaLove25, Avatar Sangmu, nequam-tenshi, and BlazeIce9967. **

**Drop me a line! Great to hear from you guys. Shorter Jinora and Korra; Depressing Mako. Late update is Late; was working on the story timeline and other stuff—sorry! Jinora and Korra parts were wrapping up the mini-arcs; Mako's part was one of the next steps in breaking him down. Not to give too much away though!**

**Catch y'all on the flip side.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I: Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 8 : Camping Out | Amends and Friends | A Million Little Pieces | On the Hunt**

* * *

**Jinora | Lee | Jin**

* * *

"Soo," Lee said, staring at the rushing waters in front of him. "Were we supposed to cross a stream today?"

Jin squinted her eyes at the map she was holding. "Um, no?"

Lee and Jinora looked at each other and groaned.

"Do you know where we are?" Jinora asked gently. Jin lowered the map and grinned uneasily.

"Maybe?"

Lee groaned and kicked a rock. "I knew you didn't know where we were going!"

"Hey!" Jin replied, hurt. "What are you doing about it, lazy butt? You wouldn't know which road to take if it got up and slapped you in the face!"

"I know enough to realize we're lost!" Lee countered.

"Guys, guys!" Jinora interrupted. "Settle down!"

The brown haired airbender turned to Jin.

"It really does look like we're lost," she said gently. Jin's face fell. Lee smiled triumphantly.

"But that doesn't mean she needs to be put down," Jinora continued, turning on Lee. "You're not being very nice about all of this. Jin's trying her best!"

Lee looked down as well. "I guess your right."

Jinora looked up at the rapidly fading sun.

"Maybe," she suggested, "Maybe we should think about setting up camp for tonight. What do you guys think?"

Lee shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever."

The two girls looked at each other and Jin shrugged, showing her indifference.

"Alright, making camp it is," the Airbender announced. The three friends all dropped their packs to the ground.

"Now what?" Lee asked. The three traded looks.

"I dunno," Jinora replied. "Make a fire? Something to eat? Set up a tent? Isn't that you do when you go camping?"

Jin shrugged. "Never been camping. I've never actually left the village before."

"Me neither," Lee added.

"I've been all over," Jinora explained, "But we've always stayed at a friend's house."

The three stood silently, looking at each other, wondering what to do. It was Lee who finally spoke up, saying, "Maybe we could dump out our packs and see what we have…?"

Jin's eyes lit up. "Great idea!" she gushed, grabbing her pack and practically ripping it open. Jinora and Lee followed her lead, and after a few minutes, the contents of the packs were spread out on the ground in front of them.

"Okay," Lee said, holding up a pot and inspecting it. "Looks like I got most of the cooking stuff. And an extra set of clothes."

"What is _this_?"

Jinora and Lee turned to their friend, who was holding a long, rectangular package. Jin began to unwrap the twine binding the cloth to the package. As the cloth fell away, she gasped.

"Oh Agni," she swore. "What are we even going to do with this?"

She held up the item so Jinora and Lee could get a better look. Lee's eyes widened,

"Is that a _sword?!_"

Jin nodded. "I think my grandpa snuck it into my bag."

She turned the sword and sheath around, displaying it's intricate beauty. She pulled the handle away from the two-tone, nut-brown sheath, revealing about half of the jet black blade underneath.

"Well," Jinora joked. "I'm jealous—all I got was these big sheets of canvas and all the food."

"Food?" Lee's ears perked up. "Food," he repeated. "We must eat food."

"I don't know if I can eat this," Jinora said, holding up a brown lump of nutrition.

Lee grabbed the lump and studied it. "Well, after its boiled, you could eat it."

"How do you know?" Jin asked. Lee rolled his eyes.

"My mom made it," he replied. "I think I'd be an expert on my mother's cooking."

"I don't doubt that," his friend muttered. Jinora smiled, covering her mouth with one hand.

"Blah, blah, blah," Lee said, standing up and grabbing a large, metal pot. "We need to boil them for twenty minutes."

Lee turned and started walking off towards the woods.

"Were are you going?" Jin called after him.

"To get water," he replied. "Duh!"

Jin turned to her Airbender friend. "I'll go get some firewood?"

"I'll stay here?"

"Good plan," Jin replied, laughing. "See you in a few!"

"Stay close," Jinora said, curling her feet into a meditative pose. "Shout if you need anything."

* * *

**Mako | Bolin | Asami**

* * *

"Asami!"

The dark haired girl hung her head, somewhat embarrassed, hiding behind the curtain of dark curly locks that hung gracefully about her face. For some reason, Bolin found it funny, and necessary, to wave her over to where he was eating.

Every. Single. Time.

"Bolin," she said, approaching him now, "We sit at the same table every time. You don't have to shout at me across the mess hall!"

"But, but," Bolin replied, putting on his best 'honestly confused' face. "What if I wasn't sitting here? What if I was over in that corner?"

The sturdy Earthbender pointed aimlessly towards the other end of the cafeteria.

"Bolin," Asami said, giving him her best 'serious' face. "You're pointing at a wall."

Bolin stared at Asami, moving his hand so it pointed towards a corner. In the process, he nearly upset one of his friend's trays.

"Watch it!" Chen cried, almost losing his soup. Seemingly out of nowhere, four of Bolin's friends joined the table. Asami found it fascinating how these huge men could literally sneak up on you no matter where you were—and how they were so loud! How did they do it?

"Anyone got this seat?" Sang-Ok whispered into Asami's ear. Used to his womanizing ways, the dark haired girl was quick to retort.

"Yes," she said. "I'm saving it for a kind, handsome man—"

"But I already got a seat!" Bolin interrupted. Asami rolled her eyes amid the laughter, pretending to be annoyed. Still, she couldn't keep the hints of a smile from gracing her face.

* * *

"And he looks at me and says, 'That's not a boarcupine—that's my mother!'"

Asami looked at Bolin, biting her lip. Unable to contain herself any longer, she burst out laughing.

"Why am I laughing?" she said in-between chortles. "That was the worst story I've ever heard!"

"Don't worry," Bolin said. "Everyone laughs at that story. I bet I could even get a chuckle out Amon if he could just stop his whole, 'benders are evil' rant for one second."

Asami laughed again, grabbing Bolin's arm for support. The touch sent Bolin's head spinning.

"_Relax bro,"_ he thought to himself. _"It's not like that."_

Still though, his heart shook its head, saying, _"Nuh-uh! Human contact = feelings!"_

That was the way Mako found them, Asami laughing and holding onto Bolin for support while Bolin glanced at her with a mixture of excitement and uneasiness.

"Ahem," the moody Firebender cleared his throat. "Sup guys?"

"Mako!" Bolin cried out. "Where've you been?"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Washing dishes. You?"

"We just finished eating," Asami replied, frowning slightly at the firebender's presence. While things were all fun and games with Bolin, it was just straight complicated with Mako.

Bolin slapped his forehead, "Oh Agni! Is it nine o'clock already?"

"No, bro," Mako replied, peeling back his uniform sleeve. "It's still a quarter til. I got out of dishes early today."

"Oh good," Bolin breathed, visibly relaxing. After a moment, realization struck and he straightened right back up.

"I've got to get across camp in fifteen minutes!" Bolin rushed off, jogging down the side of the road. "See ya Asami, Mako!"

Asami and Mako watched him scurry off. "Where's he off to in such a hurry?" Mako asked. Asami shrugged her shoulders.

"No clue," she replied, turning to walk away. Mako caught the subtle hint and ran after her.

"Hey," he said, falling in stride with his ex. "Can we talk?"

"About what?" Asami asked, walking briskly and staring straight ahead.

"Listen," Mako grabbed her. "I need to tell you something."

Asami looked down at the hand that was gripping her elbow. She gave Mako a look, clearly indicating that she wasn't pleased with this sort of contact.

"Listen," Mako said again, pulling his hand away. "When I first met you, well, it was simply incredible."

The dark haired industrialist's daughter narrowed her eyes. "Where are you going with this?"

"Just hear me out?" Mako pleaded. Asami nodded her head.

"When we first met," Mako repeated, "I was on top of the world. I would have never thought that someone as beautiful and different like you would have ever seen anything in me. But, as you know, things started to change after a while."

Asami sighed, rudely looking everywhere but at Mako's face. When she finally did, she suddenly wished she had kept avoiding his eyes.

"I never wanted to lead you on," Mako continued. "I never wanted to hurt you. Those moments we shared? They _did_ mean something to me. But now I realize they didn't mean the same thing to me, as they did to you."

The sincerity in his voice was killing her. Asami tore her eyes away from his; she couldn't take it.

"Asami, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it came to this."

"Me too," she replied quietly. "Me too."

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

A passerby might've been interested in the strange sound echoing through the woods. It was definitely a strange one- completely indescribable. Then again, though, who would have ever heard the sound of water cutting through wood before?

To say that Korra was intrigued by this noise would be a complete lie. In reality, she really couldn't care less. Her focus was already split between two very brain-consuming tasks. The first task, was slowly transforming a large tree into a semi-decent canoe. The second task was figuring out just how she had become so pathetic.

It had been three days since she had left Shyu's village. Four days since he had scolded her like she was a stupid little twelve-year-old. The memory had burned itself into her mind, much to her annoyance. Every so often, when things got quiet, or Korra found herself thinking, her brain would replay the moment in all of its glory, just like it did every other mistake she had ever made.

"Stupid Fire Sage," Korra muttered, taking a chunk off of the canoe's stern. "Stupid fat, hairy, racist bastard. Stupid little village." She turned away from the boat and focused her fury on a piece of scrap wood, slicing at it with water until it had been reduced to toothpicks. Why was she like this?

The Avatar let the water fall from the air, not even noticing as it splashed to the ground around her. Staring intently at the pile of toothpicks she had made, she tried to figure out where things had gone wrong; when, where, why, and how she had turned into such a wuss.

Back in the South Pole—she had been on top of the world! And not because the South Pole _was_ the top of the world. (The Northern Water Tribe had it all wrong, as did everyone else in the world. Their maps were the ones flipped upside down.) All she did was eat, sleep, and train. Life had been so simple-none of the shady political games, no extravagant power plays. Back in the South Pole, she had always been right. Here in Republic City-

Korra looked around the forest. Okay, maybe she wasn't in Republic City anymore. But that didn't change the fact that she couldn't seem to do anything right anymore. Everything she said in public-Wrong! Everything she did-Wrong! Even what she thought she knew better than anyone else-bending-was completely different from the way everyone else was fighting.

Before, her bending had been fierce, without match. Even some of the Masters that taught her had trouble keeping up! Well, not Katara, but she had definitely given her firebending master a run for his money. No one had been able to match her in fighting prowess. She had been practically invincible. When had she become so vulnerable?

"The Revelation," Korra breathed. That's when it had all changed. And even more so, with the midnight duel on Avatar Aang Memorial Island. That's when she had become weak. That's when she had allowed Amon to get the better of her.

Korra shook her head. SHE was the master of her fate; why on earth had she allowed herself to become so scared by a doofus wearing a mask?

_Because he __is__ scary. _Her mind told her. _Because he can take her bending away._

Just the thought of her bending being taken away made her heart speed up and her breathing rapid and shallow. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, Korra focused on shaping the tree into a canoe. She forced herself to focus on streamlining the tree trunk into a ship, forcing her brain to abandon the thoughts of Amon taking her bending away.

Because as long as she wasn't thinking about what Amon could do, she wasn't being reminded that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't as in control of her life as she thought.

* * *

**Lieutenant**

* * *

They had been watching the village for a day now. The morning of the second day, the Lieutenant figured it would be safe to move in. Taking A7 with him, the pair moved out of the bushes and onto the road leading up to the small village.

"Remember," the Lieutenant told A7. "Don't talk. You're just my silent, humble companion."

"Understood," A7 answered. He fingered his plain cotton clothing uncomfortably.

"Don't worry," the Lieutenant said. "We'll be on our way and out of these ridiculous clothes after doing a little reconnaissance."

The pair walked along the road, reaching the village gate without trouble. The Lieutenant and A7 entered the marketplace, browsing some of the shops, asking idle questions. They came to a fisherman's kiosk, which sat in front of a newly constructed dwelling.

"New construction around here?" the Lieutenant asked, gesturing to the mix of old and new buildings.

"It's recent," Shyu replied. "Interested in buying anything?"

"How much?" the Lieutenant asked, pointing to a fish.

"Twenty-five copper yuan pieces," the fire sage/fisherman replied.

"Done," the mustached man said. As Shyu wrapped the fish in thick white paper, the Lieutenant began to question him.

"A friend of mine was on her way through here," he began. "About my height, brown hair, brown skin. Did you see her come through?"

Shyu's hands slowed considerably as he took in this new information. Apparently taking extra care to wrap the package, he wracked his brain to try and remember if Korra had said anything about looking for some friends.

"Not to my knowledge," Shyu answered, handing the Lieutenant the package. "You'd best be going now; the folk around here don't like strangers who ask questions."

The Lieutenant caught the dangerous glint in the fisherman's eye; he took a good look at the man and concluded that his figure suggested something other than that of a simple fisherman.

"My apologies," the mustached man replied, bowing his head slightly. "Good doing business with you."

The Lieutenant and A7 walked away, intent on leaving the village. They were stopped by a not-so-subtle whisper.

"Hey, moustache," a voice urged; the Lieutenant stopped. He spotted a large, hairy man standing with his back to the wall of what appeared to be a tavern.

"Did you want to talk to me?" the Lieutenant asked, adding a hint of steel to his voice.

"Yeah," Dishi replied. "I heard you were asking about the Avatar."

The two companions looked at each other. "What do you know?"

"Depends," the fat, greasy man replied. "How much money do you have?"

* * *

**A/N: Yes, yes, I know! It's been a month since the last chapter... Blah, blah, blah, moved into new apartment, blah, blah, blah, busy with athletics and school, blah, blah, blah. **

**So, I'm sorry that I'm stumbling to get these chapters out. What's really been happening is that I've been having a tough time nailing down what each character IS and what/where I want them to end up by the end of my story. Korra and Mako are giving me trouble at the moment, but Jinora's arc is troublesome as well. I'll try to get a chapter out a week, and who knows? Once it's nailed down I might update faster. Lol, reviews help too. And if I had to give this story a number of chapters... 60? This ain't gonna be no short story folks. Peace!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Earth. Fire. Air. Water.**

**Only the Avatar can master all four elements and bring balance to the world.**

* * *

**Act I: Breaking Down**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Caught Unawares | Afternoon Tea | Dreams | Catching a Cab**

* * *

**Jinora | Lee | Jin**

Jin hefted her grandfather's sword and whacked the fallen tree again; the branch she had been aiming to cut off plopping softly onto the ground. She was still taken aback by how sharp the sword was, even after all these years of just hanging around, literally, on the wall of her grandfather's house.

"What are you made of?" she asked it, peering closely at the blade. The black metal was unlike any she'd ever seen; it wasn't iron, bronze, copper, silver, or even that new metal everyone was talking about—steel. Shrugging, she leaned the blade up against a nearby bush, only to have it fall into the leafy depths of the bush a few seconds later.

"Well," Jin said to herself. "That was brilliant. Just stop screwing around and gather up the stupid branches, will ya?"

Totally absorbed by her task, Jin hardly heard the quiet footsteps of the person sneaking up behind her. All she would remember was reaching for a branch, feeling a sharp pain on the back of her head, and blacking out

***O***O***O***

Jinora slipped into the meditation like a koi fish into a pond. After a few breaths, she managed to reach her serene spot, feeling the stress of the day melt off as if she had been wearing a coat of ice. After a while, she noticed someone trying to sneak up behind her.

"Lee?" she asked aloud. "Is that you? I can hear you sneaking up on me."

"Nice guess," someone who was _not_ Lee replied. "But no."

Before she could react to the foreign voice, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and then, darkness.

***O***O***O***

Jin woke up sometime later with a throbbing headache. She felt the back of her head gingerly, wincing as she touched a large bump. Since it was getting dark out, she gathered up the sticks she had been trying to collect, found her grandfather's sword in the bushes, and trekked back to the campsite. After a few wrong turns, she made it back to the clearing by the stream. The girl expected to be chastised for her lateness and was not expecting to see Jinora lying in a heap amongst the remains of their things. Jin rushed over to her friend, ignoring the piles of canvas and the metal cookware strewn across their campsite.

"Jinora!" she cried, kneeling down and gently picking up the airbender's head. Jin patted the girl's cheeks lightly and, after a few seconds, was rewarded with a fluttering of eyelids.

"Uhhhhh?" Jinora croaked.

"Oh thank the spirits!" Jin sighed, relieved. "Are you okay?"

The airbender nodded her head, wincing slightly as she slowly sat up. "Someone hit me on the back of my head," she told Jin.

"The same happened to me," Jin replied. "I was reaching down to pick up some firewood when 'Boom'! lights out."

"Looks like they didn't take much," Jinora replied, squinting around at the campsite. "Except our food. Where's Lee?"

Jin frowned at her. Then realization struck her like a ton of bricks. "Lee's brothers!"

At first, Jinora didn't know what her friend was talking about. And then she understood.

"Oh, no," she breathed.

* * *

**Iroh | Asami**

The sergeant scratched his arm. "I don't know Captain Sato," he said. "I'd figure that we could probably finish the supply depot within the next week."

Asami shook her head. "That's not quick enough—Jhe, I know you guys can finish it in four days."

"Four days?" Sergeant Jhe's eyebrows nearly shot off his face in surprise. "You couldn't make a mess in four days, let alone finish the entire Supply Depot, Sir! I mean, Ma'm!"

"I certainly think you and your men are capable," she complimented, oozing confidence. "If I didn't, I wouldn't have chosen either you or your crew."

Sergeant Jhe perked up a little, looking very flattered.

"How about this," Asami continued. "I'll give you five and a half days to finish the depot. If you finish before the deadline, the rest of the time is yours to use to do whatever you and your men desire. How does that sound?"

Her foreman, Sergeant Jhe, blinked in surprise. "Yes, ma'm!" he saluted. "Perfect sense! I'll, um, with your permission, um, be on my way?"

Asami dismissed the man, hiding a smile. She stood for a moment, watching the excited figure of her construction foreman get smaller and smaller as he scurried away.

"Bravissimo," someone said behind her, clapping their hands. Asami turned to find General Iroh behind her, sitting/leaning up against her workstation. "What a wonderful performance!"

"It wasn't a performance," Asami said quietly, walking over to the table. She began to nervously straighten up the papers, maps, and blueprints that littered the mobile workstation's desktop, slightly unnerved by the feel the General's golden gaze appraising her.

"Asami, I'm not saying it's a bad thing that you had to act a little to inspire him—I have to do the same thing before every battle," the general said quietly. "I can't let them know how scared I actually feel; I have to pretend a little too."

Asami looked up from her papers at Iroh; he smiled at her and a shot of adrenaline rocketed through her system.

"Forgive me for asking," Asami said, still busily straightening paperwork. "But did you come here just to sit on my blueprints?"

"Actually," Iroh replied, sounding very close. "That was the only reason."

Asami's heart sped up as she tried to keep a calm demeanor. "Well you're doing a splendid job of it."

One of General Iroh's aides came up and saluted the general. "Your tea is ready, sire."

"Thank you, Ishk," Iroh replied. Asami looked up at him, with a bemused smile on her face.

"You were saying something?" Asami grinned. "About only being here to sit on my desk and stop me from working?"

Iroh smirked right back at her. "Well, the tea must have slipped my mind. Would you be so kind to grace me with your presence for a bit of afternoon tea?"

"I would be happy to," she answered him. Iroh's body filled with a jolt of electricity, delighted that she had accepted.

"If I didn't have all this work to do," she continued, smothering his fiery excitement with a bucket of cold, watery, reality. The pit of his stomach dropped like a stone. Luckily for him, though, he was ready for an answer like this.

"In that case," he told her, standing up and straightening his uniform. "I order you to take a break and have tea with me."

Asami looked up at him. "I can't disobey one of those, can I?"

"No ma'm," Iroh smiled. "Shall we?"

Asami sighed, pretending to be slightly annoyed. "I suppose."

General Iroh led her over to where a small table had been set up with two chairs. He pulled a chair out for her gallantly; Asami walked right over to the other chair and sat herself down. Iroh smiled at this subtle assertion of character.

"You know," he told her. "You are the second person to have ever done that to me."

"Oh? Really?" Asami questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Who was this other woman with enough nerve to ignore the chivalry of The General Iroh? I'd certainly like to meet her."

"But you have," Iroh told her, pouring the tea. The fragrant aroma of the tea wafted over Asami and she closed her eyes, appreciating the delicacy and the pleasure that the tea was beginning to offer.

"Avatar Korra was the first person to refuse my kindness," Iroh said, smiling slightly at the memory. He handed Asami a small cup of tea, which she took with a smile. "If I remember correctly, she fire-bended the chair to ashes and earth-bended a stone chair from the ground with a quick stomp of her foot."

Iroh shook his head, chuckling at the memory. He sighed a little before taking a sip of tea.

"Oh, Korra," Iroh said. "You just never know what you're going to get with that girl."

Asami stared into her cup of tea, trying to keep her poker face on. She couldn't help the uneasiness that was building in her stomach. Asami knew she had the ability to do nearly everything and anything she wanted… but it was apparently impossible to find a guy who she liked who didn't have eyes for the Avatar. What made it even worse was that she couldn't even hate her for it; Korra had become one of the best friends she'd ever had. It wasn't the Avatar's fault that she was athletic, pretty, fun, and full of life.

"Are you okay, Asami?" Iroh asked gently. The dark-haired girl perked up immediately.

"Sorry?" she asked. "I didn't mean to ignore you like that—I was just trying to figure out what kind of tea this is. It's delicious!"

Iroh smiled. "Its ginseng tea—a family tradition. And I'm sorry if I was boring you with my reminiscing."

"Not at all," Asami assured him. "Were you and the Avatar close?"

"I don't think 'close' would do us justice," Iroh smiled, setting down his cup of tea in its saucer. "We practically grew up together. She would visit every summer from the time she was seven to when she was about thirteen; after that summer, when I was seventeen I ran away to join the United Forces. But I can't even begin to tell you about how much trouble we got into during those six summers."

They continued to chat, moving from the Avatar, to the construction of the camp, and on to other topics. Asami did her best to seem bright, happy, and engaging on the outside. On the inside, though, she was wallowing in her own self-pity. Asami hated feeling sorry for herself; she thought it was weak. But she still couldn't help but feel like she would never match up to the Avatar. Inside of herself, she agonized over the irony of the situation; that in a world of billions of people, she ended up next to the one person who was prettier, smarter, and more fun than she was. She agonized over the fact that she had ended up being friends with the one person who would always overshadow her.

Asami didn't hate Korra; far from it. She adored her. But first Mako, now Iroh… Asami just wished she could find one person that wouldn't get swept away by her friend's charms. Asami knew she could never match up to the Avatar. But more than anything, she hated being reminded of that.

* * *

**Korra**

Korra lay in the dug-out middle portion of her nearly-finished canoe. She slept soundly, tired from her battle with the tree trunk. She shifted around unconsciously in the canoe, more aware of her dreams than the environment around her.

_She flew along, following the water; she was close. Shyu's village flashed by, as did a second one Korra hadn't reached yet. The stream quickly widened into a big river, being fed by smaller streams along the way. The ocean loomed up in the distance and Korra felt herself drawn to the salty, salty, sea. The river met the ocean and the avatar was turned to the left, following coast towards a lonely mountain. _

_The immense pile of rock stood proudly on the shore, almost mocking the elements that sought to erode it. Dream-Korra flew towards the mountain, towards a small archway at the base of the rock. Through the archway she went, down a path that twisted up through the seemingly impossible-to-climb terrain. For anyone other than a master earth-bender, it was an impossible climb. _

_Korra picked her way up the mountain, oblivious to time. She finally reached a narrow ledge, where a green-robed person was standing, seemingly waiting. A hood was drawn over their head and all Korra could see was the bottom half of their face._

"_You are here," the robed person said. "Yet you are not. Return, spirit, back to the body from which you came. Go, for the hour of your need is great."_

_Korra felt herself pulled off of the ledge and out into space. Instead of falling, like she thought she would, she began to fly; over the coast, up the river, back to the clearing where she had begun her journey._

* * *

**Lieutenant**

The Lieutenant stood at the prow of the raft they had stolen, scanning the forest with his goggled eyes.

"What if the Avatar is deeper in the woods?" B71 asked, concerned. The Lieutenant frowned slightly. An Equalist never questioned the orders of a superior. The Lieutenant decided to let it slide, knowing that B71 was one of his best chi-blockers.

"Our informant told us that the Avatar had a vision, telling her to follow the stream," the mustached leader replied. "Benders put a lot of importance in these silly dreams. She will follow the water."

The Lieutenant looked upstream, noticing a slight gap in the trees. As the raft drew closer to the spot, the gap grew into a small clearing. The scene grew until the mustached man could see the rough outlines of a wooden canoe being built. His eyes straining against the falling darkness and struggling to overcome the green tint of his goggles, the Lieutenant pieced together a variety of shapes hanging over the edges of the canoe. A normal person would've smiled as they recognized the arms and legs of their target, fast asleep in a nearly-finished canoe, but the Lieutenant wasn't a normal man. Nor would he have smiled if he was.

"Bring the raft over to the shore," he commanded quietly. Despite his best intentions, an undertone of excitement escaped, packaged with the order he had just given to his chi-blockers. The equalists noticed it but said nothing. They knew. They had found her.

"Let's go," the Lieutenant rasped. "Quietly."

* * *

**A/N: Well, I guess this is my comeback! Couldn't handle doing two epic-saga stories at once, so finished off the other one first. Now it's TLoK for dayzzzzzzzz. Does anyone still read this thing anymore?**


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